The Apprenticeship
by Lucy Grang3r
Summary: "If it was passion you wanted Granger, you should have just asked." When Hermione Granger managed to obtain one of the Wizengamot's prized apprenticeships, she didn't realise she'd be working alongside Draco Malfoy. With Theodore Nott pursuing her like there's no tomorrow and her best friend Pansy Parkinson doing nothing but sip martinis - what could possibly go wrong?
1. The Apprenticeship

**Hello! I've enjoyed Dramione for a really long time and finally had enough inspiration to start a fic myself! Hope fully you'll enjoy the ride.**

* * *

Hermione Granger checked her watch for what seemed like the hundredth time and nervously blew back a strand of hair which remained loose from her painfully tight bun.

It was 11.36am, meaning Kingsley Shacklebolt was running exactly six minutes late for their meeting. Though it was not unusual for Kingsley to call Hermione into his office on a Friday morning, and it was pretty much the norm for him to be running a few minutes late (the Minister of Magic rarely had a relaxing day at the office), something had seemed off about the owl he'd sent her the previous day.

He had bothered with extensive formalities, referring to her as 'Ms Granger' and requesting she 'attend a meeting in his office the following morning' – quite different from his usual note asking her to pop by for an update on her progress in the filing rooms.

Hermione couldn't help but allow her lip to curl as she thought of the bloody filing rooms, a dim and musty area tucked away from the exciting hustle and bustle of the ministry's central nervous system where careers went either to be born or to die. She was hoping for the former, having been waiting for a place on the Wizengamot's illustrious apprenticeship scheme for several years now.

After the war Hermione had very little trouble deciding what it was she wanted to do, especially after attending numerous trials for the captured death eaters who had taken part in the battle of Hogwarts. The wizarding justice system had been in a tumultuous state for a while, beginning with Harry's frankly unjustified trial after defending himself from dementors in Little Whinging, to Voldemort's version of justice which had reigned during the dark time the ministry was taken by the death eaters.

With power hungry, blood-biased characters such as Dolores Umbridge long gone from the wizard high court of law, it seemed a new age of fairness and just punishment was on the horizon, and Hermione was desperately eager to be a part of it. Besides, she had always rather enjoyed Law and Order – the Wizengamot was an obvious career path.

Of course, being one of the most important departments of the ministry of magic, similar to the Auror's offices, the Wizengamot was no place for corruption or status – it did not matter that she was one of the golden trio, Hermione knew she needed to wait and be proven worthy of a position in the distinguished department – just as Harry and Ron were having to train hard to be Aurors like everyone else.

She was hoping that all of her hours slaving away in one of the ministry's dullest departments, helping Millicent Bullstrode (of all people) locate and appropriately re-file any documents which had been misplaced or moved during the war had been enough to prove how dedicated she was to the ministry. Not only was she eager to start her career in the wizarding justice system, but Hermione was tired of returning home smelling of dust and Bullstrode's body odour each and every day.

She was startled out of her thoughts as Percy Weasley opened the door to the Minister's office and stepped out. He dropped her a wink and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kingsley's ready for you now Hermione, good luck!" He grinned, Hermione smiled back nervously, his words confirming that something bigger than a catch up over a cup of tea was afoot.

She caught the door before it swung closed and entered the office of the Minister for Magic with a stern and professional look on her face, remaining by the door with her hands clasped in front of her until she was invited to speak.

"Ms Granger! Excellent to see you, please relax and take a seat, I believe I have good news." Shacklebolt smiled warmly from behind his desk, extending his hand for her to shake as she approached him and sat down opposite.

Hermione smiled back, still wary and trying not to let herself hope for the best. She could just be transferring out of the filing rooms and into the department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes – a shit storm she did not want to be involved in even if it was technically still a step up from her current position.

"I'll get right to the point as you're not the only person I need to speak to this morning - it seems you have made the cut for our next round of apprenticeships with the Wizengamot! I'm happy to tell you that all the hard work you've been putting in with Ms Bullstrode in the legislative department has not gone unnoticed – you start Monday."

Hermione's face broke into a dazzling smile, her hands relaxed in her lap as she felt the intense feeling of dread tying her stomach in knots melt away.

"Thank you so much Minister, I am incredibly grateful, and I cannot wait to start my training, being part of the Wizengamot has been a dream of mine for so long and-"

Kingsley smiled kindly but held up a hand to halt her rambling, Hermione blushed at her faux pas and her hands flew immediately back to the loose strands of her around her face which were starting to frizz. God, she was so nervous and she knew it was showing. This really had been a dream of hers since leaving school a few years back and she couldn't believe it was finally happening.

"I wouldn't go thanking me just yet, I need to let you know who has filled the other positions."

Hermione gulped at the ominous tone of voice as name after name flew through her brain at break neck speed – her mind flipped from Millicent Bullstrode herself to the ghost of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"As you know we had many applicants from your year in Hogwarts, and we went on NEWT grades in order to select the best possible candidates for this year's apprentices." He gave her a sympathetic look before moving on to the list in front of him. "Obviously you were the top, making you the first applicant I have met with today. Later today I will be seeing,"

Kingsley's mouth seemed to move in slow motion as Hermione desperately tried to recall who had returned to Hogwarts for one last year to finish their exams and who seemed to have been prepared. Her mind kept returning to those she knew had been near top of the class throughout her school years, and felt her heart sink to the bottom of her chest.

"Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Padma Patil, Daphne Greengrass and Draco Malfoy."

Hermione knew her face had turned white as a sheet, she never had been particularly good at hiding her emotions, and she felt her mouth go dry as bile threatened to inch its way up her throat.

Four Slytherins, she just couldn't believe it – and Draco Malfoy of all people!

Actually, Hermione could very well believe it, she had known all along this would be a possibility, Draco had threatened her pole position in potions and charms several times, and though she hated to admit it the other Slytherin boys had been particularly adept at arithmancy and defence against the dark arts.

"Daphne Greengrass?" Hermione protested weakly, knowing that bringing up any other name would be useless – they certainly had the grades to back up their applications.

"I would have thought you'd remember Miss Greengrass' skills in history of magic and transfiguration, particularly as those are two of your key interests." Kingsley pointed out dryly, a small smile playing about his lips as though he realised Hermione's discomfort and couldn't help but be slightly amused.

Hermione nodded, defeated. Of course, the older Greengrass had beaten her on a few assignments throughout Hogwarts, Hermione supposed she had forgotten as Daphne hadn't been as loudly intolerable as the rest of them. Though that certainly didn't mean she would be happy to see the witch.

"Hermione, I am aware there may be tensions between you and some of the other apprentices, one name comes to mind in particular," A blond pointy face sprung to the forefront of Hermione's mind as Kingsley spoke and she shuddered. "Despite this I expect nothing but respect and good work from all of you. Any behaviour which compromises the integrity and efficiency of the Wizengamot shall be taken incredibly seriously."

"Isn't having an ex-death eater compromising enough?" Hermione mumbled under her breath and Kingsley's expression stiffened.

"Has it not occurred to you that a big reason for these young people to be so interested in the machinations of wizarding law and order is to prevent the likes of Tom Riddle ever controlling witches and wizards again?" Hermione blushed, Kingsley had a point.

She'd gotten an earful on being respectful to former Slytherins from Ginny of all people. Ginny had spent a considerable amount of time with the likes of Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini while she played professional quidditch. She'd ended up rather sharply chastising Hermione for her negative comments on the lot of them, informing her quite bluntly that houses ' _didn't mean a fucking thing_ ' now that they were all actual adults. She supposed there was some truth in that.

"I don't think now is the time for such conversations, especially as I have the other five successful candidates to speak to." He added curtly, and Hermione nodded.

"Before I leave I would like to apologise for my comments, I was just shocked I didn't mean to be derogatory." She hurriedly explained, and Kingsley gave her a small smile and nod of reassurance before gesturing towards the door.

She exited still a little embarrassed at her slight outburst, and, staring at the ground, walked straight into the tall, slim figure waiting outside the office.

Hermione jerked back from the young man's firm frame as he stumbled in the opposite direction, both of them landing directly opposite each other on the floor.

"Would you watch where you're…" Draco Malfoy had begun to snarl before he'd even hit the floor, but his sharp comment trailed off as he took in the familiar face before him. "Granger?!" He spluttered in shock.

She looked almost the same, pretty much the same height which was probably why her dwarfish figure had slammed right into his without looking up first. Her ridiculous hair was scraped back against her skull, revealing her slimmer face and accentuating her jaw and smooth neck.

Despite her new, polished look and evident loss of her baby face, her eyes were exactly the same. Fiery, glowing amber – almost gold. How fucking Gryffindor. He'd actually last seen her at someone or other's New Years Eve party a few years before, but he doubted she remembered that.

"Well if you hadn't been standing directly in front of the door." She spat back, those electric eyes burning into his own icy grey. Hermione noted he looked far healthier than the last time she had seen him, though granted that had been while he was playing puppet to the cruellest wizard of the century. His hair had once been dull and lifeless, and now appeared to be brighter, imitating pale gold. He almost looked beautiful – in an icy, cold and unyielding way.

His lip curled into a snarl once again and Hermione had to bite back a snort of derision – some things did not change.

"If you insist on running around the ministry like a bull in a bloody china shop." He retorted, and it was then that they both seemed to realise where they were – not in the school halls biting at each other like children, but outside the office of the Minister for Magic who was offering both of them the opportunity of a lifetime.

Hermione quickly readjusted her pencil skirt, wiggling it back down over her thighs and muttering a charm to remove the fierce ladder in her tights. Draco snorted at the action – she was dressed in what could barely be labelled office attire, tight red skirts which barely skimmed the knee and rumpled blouses were hardly appropriate.

She stumbled to her feet, willing her blush to disappear as she nearly tripped over her sensible court shoes (Hermione never had been able to hack heels, but it was embarrassing to trip in front of her old nemesis) and angrily pulled a loose strand of her hair back against her head.

"Malfoy." She said with a nod before marching away, praying he hadn't caught the telling shade of red her cheeks had turned – almost the same hue as her skirt.

He watched her leave bemusedly, holding back a grin as she nearly stumbled once again on her ugly shoes rounding a corner. This was going to be fun.

* * *

"I don't understand, you pushed him over?"

Hermione groaned into her hands as her best friend took a sip from her Long Island ice tea and tapped a magenta nail against the glass.

It was now 12:15, which in Pansy Parkinson time was definitely cocktail hour.

"I was just trying to get out of there and he was right up against the door, he'd probably been listening the arrogant shit." She grumbled, miserably nursing her green tea as Pansy tried to hold back a smirk.

Her and Pansy had been friends almost as long as Hermione had been working for the ministry, little less than four years. Pansy worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation as she spoke six languages, (she'd assured Hermione this had _not_ come from hard work and determination, but an exuberant amount of foreign holidays and nannies as she'd been growing up) she and Hermione had met at her father's trial a little after the war.

Hermione marvelled at Pansy's intelligence and ability to manoeuvre and convince people into giving her what she wanted, Pansy marvelled at Hermione's lack of fashion sense. The unlikely partnership had blossomed from there.

While on paper the two had very little in common, it turned out Pansy was rather hilarious and incredibly loyal, two characteristics Hermione valued very much in a friend. Pansy found Hermione amusing also (though for different reasons) and appreciated her honesty and kind-hearted nature, something she had lacked in a companion pretty much her entire life.

"You do know Draco has worked just as hard for this as you have, I told you he's been slumming it with Hagrid on the school grounds for bloody ages." Pansy pointed out and Hermione nodded from behind her fingers, her lips still downturned in an irritated pout. "And I don't even have to tell you about Daph, Theo and Blaise – I talk about those three and their voluntary work all the time."

It was true, as though Pansy had meshed incredibly well with Hermione and her friends that didn't mean she had abandoned her Slytherin partnerships. Hermione had once enquired about why it was Pansy continued to hang out with such secluded, distant characters and Pansy had bluntly replied;

"Who the fuck else would go to Venice with me and get smashed each summer?"

Hermione had begrudgingly accepted her answer and said nothing more on the matter. It wasn't that she was anti-Slytherin or disliked people she had bickered with in school, that was far from it and evident in her close friendship with Pansy Parkinson, it was those _particular_ Slytherins she found herself not trusting... OK so maybe it had a _little_ to do with their school loyalties, it wasn't like she had any difficulty meshing with strangers from the other three houses.

Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy and the Greengrass sisters were among the few purebloods who after clearing their names in the trials after the defeat of Voldemort, had retreated almost completely from society. Harry and Ron theorised that they were hiding their plot to revive the death eater movement, and though Hermione acted as though she agreed, a small rational voice in the back of her head explained that they probably feared rejection and belittlement in the new society which had formed after the war. She knew plenty in the population doubted they had changed at all (Harry and Ron being prime examples), and apart from anything else, the changing times had brought with it an influx of muggle culture.

The ministry and St. Mungo's now utilised pagers for emergencies for example, with many offices going so far as to purchase employee mobile phones – a much more efficient way of keeping in touch during work hours than using owls. Though she hated to admit it, Hermione knew it must be incredibly daunting for the Slytherins to assimilate into society – they were effectively social pariahs anyway and their antiquated pureblood ways just made things harder. Maybe she should be trying a little harder to see them in a positive light.

Pansy sighed as she reached the end of her drink and smiled prettily at a waiter who quickly began to move to their table.

"This is too difficult of a situation to discuss over pissing tea Hermione," She said, beaming up at the waiter as she ordered two porn star martinis. "I think its time I take you out in the city again." A wicked grin spread across her beautiful face as Hermione moaned into her palms.

"Not again Pansy, you saw what happened last time." She thought back to the dreaded Friday a few months ago. She and Pansy had drained a bottle of fire whisky and ended up completely smashed in muggle London. Pansy had snogged a stranger and Hermione had almost gone home with Terry Boot (why the 'Ravenclaw bore' as Pansy dubbed him was out in a muggle club they still had no idea). "And besides it's not even half twelve, I have to be back in the office for one."

Pansy made a face as she delicately sipped from the bright orange drink which had just been placed in front of her.

"As if you're going back to that hell hole, Hermione you've been promoted! That means not more Bullstrode and no more fucking filing!"

Hermione looked sheepishly up from her hands and then towards the tempting martini in front of her.

"We _have_ to celebrate, remember the night after you broke up with Weasley? Don't tell me I don't know how to cheer you up."

Hermione winced as she thought back to that messy evening a few years before. Pansy had somehow managed to convince her that a night out in Rome after Hermione had ended the only real relationship she'd ever had was a good idea. While it had been an incredible evening, the brunette was unwilling to give her smarmy friend credit.

"Yes, and that too was a fully-fledged disaster." She snapped back, although she caved a little and took a sip from the cocktail in front of her. It was dangerously sweet, the alcohol barely detectable. She had a sneaking suspicion she would not be feeling very well tomorrow.

"I would hardly call dancing with the lead singer of the Wyrd sisters a disaster," Pansy snorted, knowing her best friend well enough to tell Hermione was kidding herself. "Besides I was serious about celebrating, you got into the fucking Wizengamot! You're an apprentice!"

"Yes, but so's _Malfoy_ ," Hermione muttered, "I would hardly call the infiltration of ex-death eaters into the ministry a reason to celebrate." The moment the words were out of her mouth she knew they were the wrong thing to say.

Pansy's face fell immediately as she pushed the martini away from her slowly and looked away. Bringing up the death eaters was certainly a sore subject, not least because of how Pansy herself had suffered at the hands of their manipulations.

"Did you ever think that we just want things to be better too? That we also want to escape the hell _we_ endured at the will of the dark lord? The hell our _families_ endured?" She replied quietly. Hermione shot her hand across the table to clasp Pansy's, although the raven-haired girl resisted.

"It's not the same Pans." She insisted, her voice earnest as she sought out the other girl's eyes.

"Yes, it is." Pansy spoke in a voice barely louder than a whisper, and Hermione recognised the far away look in her bright blue eyes. She also knew that Pansy was probably right, she was just having such a difficult time associating the funny, passionate, loving girl before her with any of those other snakes.

Hermione and Pansy had met in the Wizengamot itself, on the 28th of April 1999. Edgar Parkinson was on trial for his crimes against wizard kind, and Hermione had watched with grim fascination as his own daughter was called to testify against him.

She remembered how the younger Parkinson had stared straight at Shacklebolt the entire time, speaking only to him and trying to block out the sounds of her father's screams and pleas for mercy. She remembered how despite her display of confidence, Pansy's eyes had been wet with tears the entire time she spoke, tears which fell when Edgar cried out;

"Blood traitor, HOW COULD YOU?" Along with streams of harmful slurs and threats.

He had been taken to Azkaban that day, dragged out of the chamber by dementors, screaming that he would kill Pansy when he escaped, that she would never know peace again and the Parkinson line would die with him.

Although Hermione had been aware of Pansy working at the ministry a while before that day, that was the first time they spoke.  
She had invited Pansy out for coffee and allowed her to speak for hours on end about how difficult a decision it had been, agreeing to testify against the only living member of her family. She had talked about the times Edgar had been a good father while she was growing up, how he had cared for her once before he fell back in to the service of the dark lord.

And Hermione had listened, all the while watching the far away expression on Parkinson's face, as though she were speaking to no one in particular, but just needed the words to be out of her mouth.

The look had reappeared many times since then, though less often now. Hermione had always been the one by her side when she needed it, ensuring Pansy was never left with those thoughts alone for too long – and it killed her that she had been the one to bring them back to the surface once again.

"Pansy, I'm sorry. I think you're right," Hermione began slowly, choosing her words carefully. Though she wasn't entirely convinced of what she was about to say she also didn't want to hurt a witch she respected so much.  
"Though I don't know Malfoy, and I sure as hell don't trust him, I can see how the same could be said for his motivations working for the ministry as of yours."

Pansy turned back to face Hermione, blinking away the dampness from her perfectly made-up eyes.

"Thank you, Hermione, truly. I don't expect you to be friends, although that would make things a lot easier for me," She smirked slightly, and Hermione rolled her eyes, confident that she had managed to pull Pansy back from her thoughts, "But it's important to me that you do not see them as their parents. None of us are." She spoke firmly although the tremor in her voice was still evident.

Hermione nodded begrudgingly and took a long drink from her martini.

"And now that you owe me one you're _definitely_ coming out tonight." Pansy grinned, and Hermione sighed.

"You know sometimes I nearly forget you're a Slytherin, before you say something like that."

"Well more fool you - you owe me one." Pansy teased, raising her glass and clinking it gently with Hermione's. "Now let's get smashed."

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 **Well there you have it! First chapter up and several more written with many to come! Please let me know if you have any questions or tips or comments, it would be lovely to see some reviews. By the way, I spent a little time on Pansy & Hermione's friendship just because I love Pansy as a character in this way, but I wanted to make it clear why they've decided to become so close. **

**See you soon, hope you enjoyed!**


	2. The Slytherins

**Back again! Thank you so much to those who have reviewed, favourited or followed, big love. Though I had initially thought of updating this once a week, I've got quite a few chapters written and a full plot outline ready - feeling quite excited so wanted to keep the story going!**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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Hermione groaned as her alarm trilled happily away on the bedside table of the central London flat she and Pansy shared. The sun was already blasting through her curtains, and her head swam as she moved to sit up. Why did she ever let Parkinson talk her into escapades like last night?

As if Hermione's thoughts had woken her (although it was almost definitely the alarm) a tousled head of inky black hair angrily surfaced from the left side of the double a heart stopping moment Hermione seemed to forget Pansy crawling into bed with her last night, and a wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks as a thousand male faces flickered through her mind – she couldn't have brought anyone back, surely?!

"Will you turn that wretched thing off?" Pansy grumbled, hauling her long, thick hair into a messy ponytail and easing Hermione's anxiety (although not the sickness) as she revealed herself fully. It was just her flatmate. "Trust you to have a fucking alarm on a Saturday." Pansy threw herself back under the covers as Hermione slammed down the snooze button.

She rolled back onto her back, staring up at the ceiling as Pansy's breaths began to come slower and more regularly beside her. She hadn't understood the whole best friends sharing a bed thing until she'd gotten her own place, but then again, she hadn't really had female best friends until after Hogwarts.

She'd rented the horrifically expensive apartment pretty much as soon as she'd left school (though Hermione wasn't taking any hand outs or preferential treatment when it came to her career, that didn't mean she hadn't been handsomely rewarded for her efforts in the war). At first it had just been her swanning around in the overly spacious three bedroom flat looking over one of the city's smaller parks. Hermione definitely wasn't one for extravagant wealth, but in all honesty, she hadn't really been sure what to do with her new-found wealth, especially after she shifted most of it into savings.

The flat had seemed like a good investment, and besides, she'd always envied those who could afford to live in central London. It was Ginny however who'd saved her from the empty, slightly lonely castle she'd built around herself. The ballsy redhead had simply told Hermione she couldn't possibly have that much space all to herself, and her boxes and suitcases were filling up her hallway the very next day.

Living with Ginny had been an experience which enlightened Hermione and showed her just how much she'd missed growing up when she'd decided girls were too superficial and silly to be best friends with. Her world was suddenly full of manicures, face masks in front of terrible films, too much wine on a Wednesday night just because they felt like it – she actually hadn't felt so complete in a very long time, so she had been more than happy to offer Pansy her other bedroom when the girl informed her she couldn't stand to live in one of the Parkinson properties any longer.

The only word she could now think to describe those short two years going into their twenties when the three girls had lived together was perfect. She and Ginny had been dating the boys they'd always thought they'd marry – Harry Potter and Ron Weasley – and Pansy was constantly making their lives more interesting with her one-night stands or awful dates with the many wizards who wanted her attention. Oh sure there had been fights, for one thing it actually took longer than Hermione could stand for Ron to even accept Pansy as part of their group (he still hadn't really) – Ginny too had been infuriated by this, and it led to many screaming matches followed by emotional girly talks about how they were never going to speak to another boy again. There were constant squabbles over Ginny's filthy quidditch kit left lying around or Hermione's insistence on not going out every weekend when the other two were desperate for her to join in, but through it all they remained inseparable.

But it had to end, just like all perfect things. Ginny had sat them down at the start of summer in 2001 and told them ecstatically that Harry had proposed to her and the two were going to be finding a place of their own before the wedding. Hermione could actually remember the exact date, because that was one of only five times she'd gotten so horrifically drunk she could barely remember any of her actions. Pansy had suggested they organise a girl's night to celebrate, and so had ensued the largest party Hermione had ever hosted and some of the most embarrassing things she'd ever done.

Obviously, as expected, Ginny had drifted away from them a little after that. It wasn't like she and Pansy didn't have other friends – their girls group was actually quite a brilliant one, including Luna, Lavender and the Patils to name a few – but nothing quite compared to how close the three of them had been for such a long time.

Hermione sighed as she tried to collect herself from her thoughts, sadly thinking of the many mornings she had woken up in a similar position, but with a second, dark red head snoring beside her. She supposed she should visit Ginny and James sometime soon, but though she hated to admit it, a baby definitely altered the friendship dynamic.

"You're thinking so hard I can practically hear it." Pansy mumbled, rising once again and turning to shoot Hermione a confused and irritated look. "What's going on, are you embarrassed about the whole Draco thing?"

Hermione blanched and shot up much too quickly into a sitting position, her stomach rolled, and she nearly had to hold back a wretch.

" _What_ Draco thing?" She basically shouted, and Pansy winced at her tone.

"Will you _stop_ with the loud noises?! It's barely even morning." Hermione couldn't help but snort – it was half past ten. "Anyway, we got talking about him again last night because you were a little riled from seeing him yesterday, you kept telling this guy you were getting on how annoyingly attractive he is – among other things." Pansy snorted, dropping her head back onto the pillow.

Hermione's mind spun with the amount of information Pansy had just uttered in one sentence, and this time she couldn't hold herself back and was up sprinting for the toilet bowl within wasn't long before Pansy was at her side, pulling her birds nest up into a bun so it was away from the splash zone and rubbing her back gently. Again, Hermione had to marvel at their friendship – she doubted Harry or Ron would have had a clue what to do in such a situation.

"Oh come now Hermione it wasn't that bad, I know you hate snogging people when we're out, but he was pretty fit I have to say. Although you might want to be careful about talking about Draco Malfoy so much to other wizards." She chuckled, and Hermione responded with another heave. God, she hated cocktails.

Eventually Hermione's stomach stopped punishing her for her antics of the previous night and she sat back against the cool porcelain, not wanting to meet Pansy's eyes and so closing her own.

"Ok. Firstly, who was this mystery wizard, and was there anyone there who saw us?" She asked slowly as Pansy passed her a glass of water. Hermione still didn't know how the bloody witch held her alcohol so well.

"Well an entire club full of people saw you shoving your tongue down his throat," Pansy snorted and then outright laughed at the murderous look her best friend shot her. "Ok, ok, but if I tell you the rest you have to promise not to freak out, you're probably not going to like it."

Hermione groaned and placed her head in her hands. She was actually never going out again after this, alcohol brought out a side in her she really didn't appreciate.

"So you ended up snogging… please don't throw up again, Theo Nott." Hermione knew Pansy had been joking but her stomach actually did roil once again at the news. She couldn't believe herself honestly.

"Oh my GOD that's ridiculous. Have I even seen him since we finished school?!" Hermione cried out and Pansy once again had to smother a laugh.

"No but I think that was actually why you went along with it, even a Hermione who'd been drinking since 1pm probably wouldn't have knowingly tongued a Slytherin."

"I didn't even know who it was?" Hermione gasped, and Pansy nodded sympathetically, after all she had definitely been there before.

"Yes, but you shouldn't worry too much, Theo's quite a good friend of mine and he's not one to make a big deal of things. Also, he's actually quite lovely - which you would know if you ever bloody came to one of their parties I invited you to." Pansy attempted to reassure her (as usual with a touch of sarcasm and bitterness), but Hermione just frowned and gestured for her to go on and recall the rest of the night."Right so, here's the bit you're _really_ not going to like. Your actions were witnessed by pretty much the rest of the people you're starting the apprenticeship with – I guess they were out celebrating too?"

Hermione once again moaned into her hands. She really couldn't believe herself.

"Specifics Pansy, give me the names of who was there." She grumbled, and the raven-haired witch continued.

"Right so Theo, obviously, Blaise and the Greengrass sisters were out, oh and the Patils." Pansy chewed her lip before continuing. "That's really going to be a hard one to explain over brunch."

Hermione felt as though she might cry, of _course_ , the Potter's Sunday brunch. It was their way of celebrating James' first birthday without having "a sticky, messy, shitty kids party" as Ginny had so eloquently put it. _Everyone_ was going to be there, all of her best friends including the bloody Patils.

"Is it too much to wish I was completely and utterly dead at this moment in time?" Hermione asked weakly and Pansy smiled sadly at her.

"Oh come now Hermione, we've all done worse. Remember how you broke up with Ron on New Year's at the Burrow and then broke one of his mum's dinner plates?"

Hermione scowled darkly and pouted as Pansy grinned at the memory. God that had been a mess, Hermione remembered how terrified she'd been that Ron was going to propose all night. Things had been wrong for a long time, but he'd kept on dropping hints and she'd just freaked. The dinner plate had of course been a complete accident. What had begun as a family and close friends only soiree had really heated up before midnight, in fact come to think of it Hermione could vaguely remember Theo being present that night too.

But her memories of that party were incredibly poor, she'd ended up drinking almost an entire bottle of tequila (the foulest drink known to man, fire whiskey be damned), crashing into a china cabinet and then screaming at Ron to leave her alone. She'd managed to publically embarrass him and herself in front of God knows how many people (the Weasleys had a tendency to invite anyone and everyone to their parties), and risked their lifelong friendship in the process. She had then run upstairs to cry in someone's bedroom, but after that Hermione's mind drew a complete blank.

God she hated thinking about that drunken, teary haze of a night.

"If you're trying to cheer me up then I have to tell you its really not working." She responded darkly, and Pansy laughed once more before standing up and offering Hermione a hand.

"Well I'm not letting you mope on the bathroom floor all day. Have a shower and I'll crack out the ice cream, seeing as you woke me up so early we may as well do something productive, like watching an entire season of Friends."

Hermione rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. She just regretted introducing Pansy to muggle television, the girl really was obsessed.

* * *

"What on earth do you mean she talked about _me_?!" Draco Malfoy almost spat out his coffee as the young man opposite him continued to smirk infuriatingly over his full English. Their boy's Saturday tradition of enjoying a cooked breakfast at a local muggle joint really was starting to become a chore – Nott was just so bloody annoying.

"Something about you knocking her over at the office I believe? She certainly wasn't very happy about it." Theo replied with a shrug as Blaise grinned and nodded along.

"It made for quite an entertaining night I won't lie," Zabini interjected, the smile still twinkling in his eyes. Blaise always had been infuriatingly beautiful, his perfect dark skin and magnetising smirk. It was probably a blessing for the rest of them he was off the market.

"What were you even _doing_ there Zabini, you're married now remember? Thought that meant you weren't allowed to have fun." Draco bit out irritably and stabbed a sausage with more venom than was really needed given the situation. He was still quite bitter that he'd decided to stay in and so much had happened – he'd been banking on an average, uninspiring night out in muggle London. "Besides, who was looking after the twins?"

"Do you know of such things known as _nannies_ , Draco?" He asked condescendingly and took a sip of his orange juice. "Besides, Astoria and I needed some time to relax, especially seeing as with the apprenticeship starting Monday I doubt I'll be going out much at all."

Draco sneered at him but didn't bother arguing. He did actually like Zabini, they were best friends after all. And though he hated to admit it, looking after the little tykes Giovanni and Aurora was fast becoming one of his favourite past times – especially as at nearly two years old they were a lot more fun to play with than babies. It was as surprising to him as anyone else, but Draco really had a soft spot for small children. Well, his friend's children anyway.

"How is Astoria feeling about all of that? I'm assuming she knows the workload will mean less family time for you four?" Theo asked politely, looking as though he were generally interested in the Zabini family dynamic and not just trying to aggravate Draco further by avoiding their previous topic of conversation.

Both Blaise and Draco knew differently though, as one smirked and the other scowled at his question.

"Well, we've already decided that I won't be missing family dinner time as that's obviously important, speaking of how about that brunch at the Potters tomorrow? We'll be there as Gio and Aurora just love little James." Blaise continued, clearly playing along.

"Oh I suppose I'll go, what's the harm after all. It was so kind of Ginny to invite us, though we did get along rather well when she was still playing national quidditch, such a fiery temper that one."

"Enough!" Draco barked, ramming his fist into the table and causing several other diners to look over at their table. He'd had enough of their titter, and also didn't want to think about the strange obligation he'd gotten himself into the following morning. Brunch at the Potters was ludicrous as it was, with this stupid drama going on he didn't think any of them should show their faces. He could only guess he'd been invited last minute by the redheaded wench as a sign of good faith after he was put on the apprenticeships with Granger, he highly doubted Potter himself had anything to do with it. Even with their mutual friends in Theo and the Zabinis, he'd still managed to avoid a proper conversation with Harry Potter since leaving school.

Draco lowered his voice slightly before continuing; "Just fucking tell me what Granger was wittering on about when you saw her last night Theo."

"Oh he did a lot more than just _see_ her." Blaise snorted, and Theo blushed – actually blushed. That was when Draco knew there was something a little bigger afoot than Granger prattling on about him in a nightclub to his two best friends.

"What, exactly, is he referring to?" Draco spluttered, causing Blaise to laugh and Theo to turn an even deeper shade of red.

"She was rather inebriated, and I admit I myself had probably had a little too much to drink and…"

"Did you shag her?!" Draco basically shouted in incredulity, once again leading to rather a lot of attention being turned on their table.

"What? No!" Theo barked, before realising how loud they were being and lowering his voice. "We just kissed for a little while, chatted a bit and then she and Pansy left."

"Oh come on mate at least tell him all the details," Blaise rolled his eyes and then launched into the story, much to Theo's embarrassment. "Basically she was all over him, not that our Theodore here didn't look like he was enjoying it," Blaise began with a wink.

"There were really going at it in one of those corner booths in that club we go to, you know the one with the really cheap tequila shots? You can even do them with lemon and salt they don't charge extra"

Draco practically growled and Zabini flapped a hand excusing his digression.

"Anyway, it looked like Theo was going to make a move when she just launched into this tirade about you and how annoying you were, he sort of left it after that."

"What, were you jealous Nott?" Draco sneered, feeling oddly victorious that a girl bringing up his name had soiled her chances with another bloke – never mind that it was Granger of all people.

Theo scowled and retorted; "Don't be stupid, it was more the fact that when she was telling me about you she very obviously had no clue who I was, she kept explaining what a tool you were and how you'd met – as if I didn't already know." His scowl morphed smoothly into a smirk as he folded his arms. "Besides, her ranting didn't bother me, she gets all flushed and excited when she's angry, quite grabby too actually."

Both Blaise and Draco blanched at his words, although Blaise looked weirdly impressed – Draco could hardly believe it.

What was it with those two, just because she had boobs and a nice arse, didn't mean she wasn't any less _Granger_. She was still a know it all, she still couldn't keep her mouth shut, and her hair was probably still just as ridiculous as it always had been – how could they have forgotten those facts?!

"Well that's just repulsive Nott, I hope you realise." Draco spat and continued angrily attacking his breakfast. Both of the other boys raised an eyebrow, almost in perfect unison as they pondered over the same thing.

"Jealous, Malfoy?" Theo murmured, causing Draco to choke on a mushroom in disbelief. "Oh come on, I know you're not wankering on about blood purity – the number of witches and muggles you've pulled since leaving Hogwarts pretty much proves that - so why are you so rattled I fancy Granger?"

Draco continued to choke on his morsel of food, pretty sure that Theo's last few comments had caused him to gasp the chunk of breakfast deeper into his windpipe. It was a lot to process, once Blaise had finished patting him on the back he decided to tackle the most shocking.

"You fancy her?!" He hissed, rubbing his chest and glaring at the crumpled napkin in front of him which housed the offending mushroom.

Theo blinked and once again smirked, Draco immediately knew he had responded all too predictably. God, he hated Theodore Nott and his over calculating little brain.

"Well yes why wouldn't I. She's beautiful, intelligent, has far from displeasing… assets and seems to be really quite forward. I like those qualities in a woman." He answered calmly. "But you obviously already know all those things so that leads me back to my initial question – are you jealous?"

Draco pushed his plate away from him, he had lost his appetite and intended to punish Nott for making him waste his breakfast.

"No I am not jealous. I simply don't understand why you wish to associate with the likes of her. Don't give me that look you know blood isn't what I'm talking about – but even you can't be dim-witted enough not to see how fucking _infuriating_ she is." Draco ranted, spurred on by the slight grin which was appearing on Nott's lips. "She's barely anything to look at, average at best, her intelligence is cancelled out by the fact that she's just a bloody know-it-all, and along with all of that her two best friends happen to be even more annoying and ridiculous than she is!"

"Her best friends are Ginny Potter and Pansy Parkinson, two women we're all familiar with and find quite agreeable." Theo calmly responded, barely looking up from his juice.

"You know who I'm fucking talking about Nott, her ugly ex-boyfriend and Scarface." Draco spat venomously. He was annoyed with himself for rising to Theo's bait, but he couldn't seem to help it, how couldn't one of his best friends see the extremely valid points he was making? It just didn't make sense.

"You certainly didn't find her so abhorrent that New Years Eve party at the Weasley's." It was Theo's trump card, Draco could tell from the large and aggravating smirk which had plastered itself onto his friend's face once he'd said it. Blaise too looked impressed, but then nervous once he saw Draco's white knuckles clenched against the table.

"I _knew_ you were going to try and throw that in my fucking face." Draco spoke dangerously quietly, and even Theo's smile faltered for a millisecond. "Well just so we're perfectly clear here Nott, it meant absolutely nothing, we were both drunk and barely recognised each other, and I did it to fuck Weasley off."

Despite the clear warning signs that it was time for the conversation to come to a close, Theo couldn't help but slip one last comment in as he calmly pushed his plate to the centre of the table where it met Draco's.

"Yes, I suppose all of that would be entirely believable, if you had had any more than three drinks and had bothered to tell Weasley about it at all."

With that, Draco pushed himself violently up from the table, almost flipping it in the process. He hadn't told Weasley about it for the simple fucking reason that he abhorred talking to the dolt, _obviously_. The flaw in his plan had unfortunately been that the red headed twat hadn't been around to see – that was all. He wasn't interested in Granger, not even physically. He was adamant that her personality overshadowed any kind of physical appeal she may have had.

"I'll leave you with the bill for this one." He said, tight lipped, before getting his jacket and exiting the small café dramatically.

"Do you actually think he's jealous?" Blaise ventured a few minutes after their hot tempered blonde friend had left. Theo shrugged and smiled at the waitress, gesturing for her to get them their bill.

"I'm not sure what I think in all honesty Blaise. All I know is that firstly, that muggle born is a force to be reckoned with and one I would certainly like to see more of." He smiled once again at the waitress and left a generous tip, passing her several muggle notes.

"And second...?" Blaise pushed as the two men got to their feet and fetched their own jackets from the coat stand.

"Secondly, I know that Draco doesn't like to share, whatever he may argue to the contrary." Theo smirked one final time, and Blaise began to wonder if they would ever grow out of these types of antics. "This will be very interesting."

* * *

 **Ooh what is that pesky Theo planning? How will Hermione react if they show at the Potter's brunch? And why does Malfoy care so much?! (... well that one I'm sure you can figure out ;) )**

 **Thanks for reading this everyone, I just love writing about the Slytherins - if you're at all worried about 'glossing over' their past actions, rest assured this story is taking place 4 years after the battle, so although I'm not boring you with all the details, for the most part school grievances have been hashed out and dues have been paid! :D**

 **Anyway, thanks again for reading my fic, a review or two would be much appreciated ;)**


	3. The Argument

**(Few small alterations made)**

 **Hello, back again! This chapter is a little shorter than my previous two and my general aim for chapter length, but it was just about where I wanted it to end so sorry about that. To make up for that fact, I was planning on updating either tomorrow or Friday (because I'm nice;)).**

 **Although I do have several more chapters written and a full plot outline for this story (be warned - it's looking to be quite long!) updates will probably be a bit slower after this week as I'm going back to uni.**

 **On with the show! :)**

* * *

Hermione jostled little James Potter on her hip and reached for a scone as more people began to crowd into the already quite busy drawing room in the Potter's home. Harry and Ginny had also come off very well after the war, and like Hermione hadn't really known what to spend their fortune on, and so property had seemed a good investment. The large country house was pretty much a manor, but Hermione loved it for the mucky shoes in the entry way and toys littered across their living room – it was still a home.

She sort of thought that if she ever decided to start her own family and move out of her flat in the city, she too would want a house like the Potters.

The rooms were wide and open, with high ceilings criss crossed with chestnut coloured wooden beams. Hermione noted it was supremely different from the manors of other wizards, (the dark and ominous Malfoy Home came to mind) situated in the Wiltshire countryside somewhere quite near to the burrow with copious amounts of unruly land.

One other thing she always appreciated was how full of light the place always was - again nothing like the sinister halls of the Parkinson or Malfoy estates. Large windows unhampered by heavy drapes opened up every room, she adored it.

"I just can't get over the Potters and Weasleys having fully catered events, fucking blows my mind." Pansy muttered as she grabbed a mimosa from a nearby table and a croissant from another.

"Will you stop with the language? James is right here." Hermione chided, jiggling the little boy as he babbled happily and chewed on his fingers. Pansy just rolled her eyes before smiling and leaning into the youngest Potter.

"You can't understand a word Auntie Pansy's saying can you Jamie dear? Shit fuck dick balls." She chattered merrily, and though Hermione tried her best to remain serious when she snapped at her to stop, she couldn't help but laugh.

"You are going to be in so much trouble when one of those is his first word." She giggled and Pansy grinned back, waving a flustered Ginny over once she caught the woman's eye. There were already quite a lot more people present than Hermione would have expected for James' birthday, although the Weasleys had shown time and time again that they could never keep to their target guestlist.

Hermione smiled slightly at the notion of Ginny (and probably her husband though he was an honorary Weasley) offering an invite to pretty much anyone who chatted to them in Diagon Alley – it was just in their nature. But from the reddened and already exhausted look to Ginny's face, she was pretty sure her friend was regretting that.

"Lovely spread Ginger, I'm particularly enjoying the mimosas, I've already had three." Pansy grinned wickedly, and it was now Ginny's turn to roll her eyes.

"It's barely eleven o clock Pans, pace yourself for Godric's sake." She winked and turned to face Hermione, her expression now deadly serious. "Now you have around thirty seconds to tell me what the" She paused mid-sentence to place her hands over her son's ears. "Fuck is going on with you and Theo Nott because if _that_ isn't a midlife crisis I don't know what is."

Hermione laughed nervously and adjusted the hem of her dress. She had heard birthday party and had decided to wear a light blue sundress that was probably a little summery for the weather and definitely a little much for a one-year old's party. At least standing next to Pansy she couldn't look over dressed, the girl was in skin tight white jeans, heels and a leather jacket for Christ's sake – not to mention the huge trademark Pansy sunglasses.

This along with their open and brightly decorated home was another mark of difference between the Potters and the rest of the Wizarding elite, their events were loud and boisterous - not formal and black tie.

The drawing room they were currently stood in was painted a soothing sky blue, and the parquet floors a dusty mid brown. There were various amounts of picures on the walls, from pieces of art Ginny had selected herself to family photos of the Weasleys. Though there was no grand chandelier in the main reception room, the light fixtures were large and full of candles, looking impressive as they swung above the guests.

"Well actually Ginny, seeing as I'm nearly 24 I can't be having a midlife crisis just yet." She weakly attempted a joke to which Pansy roared with laughter. Hermione wished she could find the situation as humorous as Pansy did. Curse Padma and Parvati for their tendency to gossip.

"Yeah it's a quarter life crisis _actually_ – give her a break and let her enjoy it." The black-haired witch teased, but the smile vanished from her lips as she caught sight of who had just walked into the room.

Hermione groaned inwardly, and Ginny shot her a knowing, fearful look. There was only one person who could elicit such a reaction from their usually easy-going friend.

"Be nice to Ron, _please_. He's having a rough week because Lavender just got engaged." Ginny hissed, and Pansy barely reacted. She had hated his guts for as long as anyone could remember, and had been unable to make peace with him the same way she had with pretty much everyone else for the simple fact that Ron didn't want to.

Though Hermione didn't like to think about it much as she still felt quite bad, her and Ron had effectively reached an impasse in their relationship and it had been because of Pansy. Ron couldn't accept one of her best friends for no real reason and that hadn't left Hermione with much of a choice. Well, it was that and also the fact that they were really just designed to be friends – there were some people it felt a little wrong to kiss.

The two witches remained completely still as they watched Pansy for a reaction, the cogs in her head were clearly turning and deciding whether to stroll up to Ginny's brother and throw her very orange drink all over his white shirt, or to take the advice of her friends.

"Alright." Pansy eventually sighed and the other two also sighed, but in relief. "I make no promises if he comes at me first, but provided he's civil I'll be civil too. This is for the little shit muncher over here." She cooed sweetly at James and Ginny frowned but decided not to push it – she could handle an inappropriate nickname for her son as long as Pansy didn't start an all-out war with her brother. Instead, she turned her attention back to the brunette who clearly thought she was off the hook.

"And don't even _think_ I'm letting you off without an interrogation Hermione Granger." Ginny hissed, turning around to swiftly deposit James onto another family member so she didn't have to worry about their conversation corrupting him. "I want to know what's going on with you. I can forgive the occasional snog, I mean we all need it and you've only shagged what, three men in the last three years? But Theo Nott… this is a step too far."

Hermione wrinkled her nose at Ginny's words, trying to act as though they didn't sting. She couldn't quite tell what was worse, the fact that at first it seemed Ginny was calling her a prude but now she had kissed a Slytherin she was a floozy?She admitted after breaking up with Ron she'd had a bit of a dry spell – of those three men she'd slept with Ron had actually been one of them, so taking that into account three in her entire 23 years was not very astounding.

Part of it was most definitely the guilt. It had been hard for Hermione to eventually admit that they just didn't fit together, but she knew it had been much harder on Ron – those sorts of social nuances didn't come easily to him. He'd pretty much thought that as he had a close female companion and didn't find her disgusting things were bound to work out. Oh how wrong he'd been.

Hermione had actually found herself more in the pursuit of _passion_ the last few years than anything else. Love had gotten her nowhere. Love had gotten her into an unsatisfying, confusing relationship with one of her best friends, a relationship she hadn't wanted to break off for fear of hurting their friendship. In all honesty, she was tired of searching for bloody love.

She winced a little as she realised her quest for passion hadn't exactly been going so well either – she'd ended up reconnecting with a close muggle friend from childhood and Victor Krum, and neither of those brief flings had gotten her anything except disapproving glances from Ginny and over excitement from Pansy. Maybe Ginny was right, maybe she needed a break from the whole thing. Although Hermione still resented the harsh way her redheaded friend had worded that sentiment.

"What I'm saying is, you need to settle down pretty soon, and it's not like you can do that with Theo Nott." Ginny finished and Hermione was left gawping. That _certainly_ wasn't what she'd expected, hadn't Ginny seen her hopelessness with relationships and men in general? But she was expecting Hermione to be married off by the next year?! She'd thought Ginny was (rather rudely) trying to show her the flaws in her past romantic attachments and encourage a little break, not nag her to find a husband.

She took several moments of looking back and forth between her two female best friends incredulously for some sort of clarification – what was this madness and why was it happening? Pansy just shrugged and carried on sipping her mimosa. It wasn't like she ever listened to the advice of others anyway, Pansy didn't generally care what people thought of her, or rather, she didn't let people _know_ that she cared what they thought of her. Pansy wasn't one for sharing her feelings, especially with people she didn't like. Hermione could already feel the embarrassment and hurt bubbling up like a small eruption, and desperately wished she had Pansy's attitude.

"Well _sorry_ we couldn't all fall in love with our brother's best friend and live happily ever after a year out of school." She snapped back before she could help herself, causing Ginny's eyes to narrow and her cheeks to turn dangerously red while Pansy simply continued to sip on the straw of her drink – though now with a tiny smirk playing about her lips.

"Well actually you could have done something along those lines if you'd just removed the stick from your arse and gotten along with my brother, who's always loved you by the way." Ginny retorted quickly, her harsh tone attracting a few awkward gazes. Hermione was now practically foaming at the mouth, she couldn't _believe_ Ginny was even suggesting she hadn't tried things with Ron, especially after all the time she'd spent crying on her shoulder after it had ended between them.

"As much as I'd love to see this play out," Pansy began to drawl but Hermione cut her off. She couldn't help it, she'd been harbouring a little resentment against Ginny for a while and from the rubbish the redhead was currently spouting, Ginny felt the same.

"Oh yes I forgot that I should have just completely ignored my own feelings to make things easier for _you_. Sorry we can't all have babies at the same time and raise them together like sweet little sister wives, but some of us have better things to be doing than changing nappies." She bit back, already fully aware that she was taking this too far. It was her Godson's first birthday for Christ's sake.

"What like whoring yourself out out to every Slytherin that so much as looks your way?"

At this Ron and Harry clearly became much more engaged in the argument that was rather obviously going on in the corner of the room instead of just trying to pretend they couldn't hear.

"What's this?!" Harry spluttered, Ron just looked quietly confused.

"I can't _believe_ you're throwing this in my face after years of you and Pansy talking them up to me. You played quidditch with the lot of them before you became a bloody housewife – how _dare_ you mock me for not getting over my Hogwarts drama when you're clearly no different." Hermione's voice was getting dangerously loud, in fact she was pretty much certain everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and was now paying attention to them.

"Hey, please leave me out of this." Pansy muttered at the mention of her name, but her comment was drowned out once again by Ginny. She was actually starting to look a little less amused and a little more uncomfortable to be stuck in the middle of her two best friends heated confrontation. Pansy wasn't really one for arguments, especially not other people's anyway. Her normal move was to give someone the cold shoulder or throw something at them and scream before they could get a word in in response – this was not her scene.

"I'm not as immature as you Hermione I don't give a shit about what house he was in at fucking Hogwarts, I'm just embarrassed for you doing nothing but whore yourself out. Do you know anything about Theo's reputation? Because let me tell you, quidditch locker room talk is incredibly revealing and it seems you're just another one of his slags."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, her face as red as Ginny's hair and her ears practically steaming, but was interrupted by a cool quiet voice at the door.

"I suppose that's my call to leave."

Every single pair of eyes in the room shot to the entryway, where none other than Theodore Nott stood, flanked by Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass looking extremely uncomfortable, and Blaise Zabini grinning as though Christmas had come early.

It was then that James decided to break the uncomfortable silence with a wail from where he was seated on his grandmother's lap, and suddenly all eyes were on the hostess waiting with baited breath to see what her reaction would be.

"Don't be ridiculous Theo, how are you? And Blaise and Astoria, it's really been too long." Ginny chirped brightly, and as though a switch had been flicked the other party goers once again began chatting amongst themselves and enjoying the generous spread. Clearly Ginny had decided glossing over the colossal argument with her best friend was the way to save her son's birthday party from ruin – although Hermione guiltily suspected this would be all anyone would remember about James' 1st for years to come.

Hermione watched the back of her, probably now former, best friend as she sashayed between guests, smiling at each one calmly as she made her way towards the newcomers to accept their gifts and formally welcome them. She was unbelievable.

"And to think, you two thought Weasley and I were going to be the problem." Pansy commented drily from Hermione's side before chugging her mimosa down in one and grabbing two more. She passed the second to Hermione who replicated her friend's action and drained the glass.

"Atta girl," Pansy grinned, fetching yet another of the dangerously sweet drinks, "These things are never fun sober anyway."

* * *

Draco blinked, completely stunned at the scene he and his friends had walked in on. He'd known it was a bad idea to come today (obviously, it really didn't take a genius to figure that one out), but he'd actually been feeling a little left out after the antics of Friday night, and had wanted to adopt an unassuming fly-on-the-wall position to absorb as much information as possible. Clearly that wasn't going to happen due to Theo's dramatics – they had certainly made an entrance.

"You are just ridiculous." He bit out nastily under his breath as Theo wrapped Ginny into a warm hug, gave her his gift for James and waved her towards the Zabinis.

"Now, now Draco, I thought it was _you_ who made the rule we wouldn't fight over petty, girly things." Theo smirked irritatingly, looking up at Draco with contempt through his head of tousled chestnut curls. He was clearly referring to the spat they'd had in the café the previous morning which, though he would loathe to admit it, had been bothering Draco non-stop for the past 24 hours. He simply couldn't understand what was going on with his childhood best friend and bloody _Granger_ of all people.

But there was no way he'd let Nott know that he was still concerned about that.

"I'm not irritated about yesterday you fool," He sighed, playing the part of an uncaring twat quite perfectly, it was essentially his only character. "I just told you we shouldn't have bothered coming to his event, especially with the shit you pulled on Friday night, and look how right I was."

Theo cocked an eyebrow and gestured imperceptibly with his hand towards the woman he knew Draco was referring to, who was currently stood in a corner smashing mimosas like there was no tomorrow with Pansy Parkinson.

"Who says that isn't the exact reason I'm here?" He asked mysteriously, causing Draco to frown a little in confusion. "Must say, she looks rather ravishing in that sundress, wonder if she goes commando?" Ah. That _really_ left none of Theo's motivations to the imagination.

Draco's confusion moulded into its usual mask of slight disgust and irritation, and Theo laughed before brushing him off and heading towards his target.

The blonde was left frowning. It was as though Theo had forgotten who he was. Sure his shorter, brown haired friend had some sort of way with the ladies, he was, as Blaise had put it once "just too fucking pretty", but that didn't mean he was suddenly allowed to start pushing people around. It wasn't as if Draco was a poor little virgin Theo needed to take under his wing – he did pretty well for himself without even trying.

Yes. That was what this irritation was about. Draco concluded, he simply couldn't take Nott's attitude any longer. He thought it might be time to teach him some sort of lesson, but he wasn't exactly sure what to _do_ just yet.

He watched on in disbelief as the bastard swanned up to Pansy and Granger and very obviously started flirting. Pansy was smirking a little over her glass and Granger looked extremely flushed, Draco couldn't believe he was so brazen, especially after the war they'd walked in on. It was a kid's birthday party for fuck's sake.

His mind lit up in that moment and he allowed himself to smirk a little before grabbing a glass himself and moving towards them. He may not know what sort of reprimand Nott deserved overall for his poor attitude recently, but he certainly knew how to start – getting under his feet.

* * *

 **Again sorry for the shortness of this chapter, at least it wasn't too dull ;) How do you feel about Ginny and Hermione's argument? I feel like both sides have good points, Ginny has abandoned her friends a little since starting a family but having a baby is hard!**

 **And what's Draco thinking?! ... Well, you can probably guess that one!**


	4. The Brunch

**Thank you so much for your reviews! They are my biggest reward for writing this and they really make my day :)**

 **This chapter is finishing off the Weasley brunch before we move onto the actual apprenticeships some time next week, even though this chapter could be considered filler I do quite like it so I hope you do too :D**

 **Anyway hope you enjoy and leave me a comment even if you didn't ;) x**

* * *

"You know Hermione," A smooth, cool voice interrupted Hermione's bitchy conversation with Pansy. She was thankful that Pansy, regardless of how uncomfortable she had been during the whole confrontation, was on her side. They'd both been feeling the same recently about Ginny's level of respect for the two of them just because their lives weren't in the same stage as hers just yet. As Pansy had put it, it wasn't like birthing a fucking baby made you God's gift.

She started and turned around to face the person she dreaded to see most at that moment, Theo Nott himself, smiling at her coyly and looking rather dapper in his deep red shirt and slacks.

"You don't have to be plastered every time we speak. That's not a requirement." He grinned, gesturing towards the empty glasses littering the table behind him and causing her to flush deeply.

"Nott." She nodded politely before setting down her glass and stretching out a hand which he completely ignored.

"I think we moved past the formalities when you stuck your tongue down my throat earlier this weekend, don't you?" His smile hadn't faltered and Hermione once again felt herself flushing an embarrassing shade of pink.

"Yes, um, sorry about that. I suppose I should apologise seeing as we'll shortly be colleagues, I didn't mean to act so brazenly." She managed to mumble out whilst simultaneously trying to ignore Pansy's not so subtle sniggers from beside her.

Nott tilted his head in confusion and then let out a short laugh.

"Don't apologise for _that_ Hermione, I can't say I didn't enjoy it," He winked before leaning in close to her and murmuring so only she could hear; "You tasted exactly like strawberries."

"Watch yourself Nott, wouldn't want her dry humping you at a children's birthday party." A snide and all too familiar voice uttered from Hermione's other side. She spun around, scowl already in place, to see Draco Malfoy sipping from one of the tall glasses which seemed to be just about everywhere.

"Don't be ridiculous Draco," Nott didn't look at all fazed, in fact he strangely appeared to have expected Draco's presence, even though the Zabinis were at the other end of the room chatting to the Potters. Hermione would probably never get over how weird that friendship was and how quickly Harry had adjusted to accommodate his old school rivals into his life, babies made people do the strangest things. "I'd take her upstairs before something like that happened."

Hermione practically choked on air while Pansy rolled her eyes and put down her own glass. For some reason Draco Malfoy looked decidedly angered by that statement, Hermione supposed he didn't want to think of his friend in any way associated with a mudblood. She almost smiled to herself – that practically made her want to do it even more, just to anger him. She realised it was irritating her a little more than it probably should that he was speaking as though she wasn't even there – he was just so rude.

"I think we should end this pissing contest before it really begins and you actually whip your dicks out, shouldn't we boys?" The dark-haired witch snapped, "Besides you've been here for around 5 minutes and neither one of you has so much as cast me a second glance, let alone complemented my outfit."

Her two male friends immediately jumped into action and Hermione took this as her way out of the incredibly awkward group which had formed around her. She shot Pansy a thankful glance, although she was pretty sure her friend's complaints had been legitimate, and moved to grab her glass and find Harry and Ron.

Theo touched her arm and gave her a dazzling smile, opening his mouth to utter some probably disarming parting remark but was interrupted by his less charming companion.

"See you around Granger," Draco smirked, downing the rest of his drink and ignoring Theo's look of irritation. "Try not to cause any more arguments while you're at it? Your face looked as red as Weasley's hair it was quite a sight."

The last part was said a little coldly, and he seemed to be alluding to more than just the girly spat he had walked in on earlier, after all, why would Draco Malfoy care who she was starting arguments with? Hermione shot him a quizzical glance before remembering who she was speaking with and morphing it into a sneer.

She tried to hide her shock at the venom in his words, it wasn't like she should have expected any different but it still hurt. Hermione had stupidly been under the impression that now they were working together he might be a little more civil, or at least have the decency to ignore her.

"Try not to speak to me again and that won't be a problem." She quipped, before flipping her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder and stalking off.

She could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks and the angry wetness reaching her eyes, she knew she must look like a right state. Damn Malfoy and his tongue for actually making her more embarrassed than she already had been. She wasn't entirely stupid, Hermione knew everyone at the party had witnessed her and Ginny's screaming match, but she'd been hoping to somehow make it through the rest of the day without it being brought up again.

She hurried towards the bathroom, locking the door behind her before anyone outside could see her cry. She dabbed at her eyes hurriedly in the mirror, not wanting to upset what little make up she had on too much. Though Hermione was ashamed she had let Malfoy get to her so quickly, and by saying so little, she knew it wasn't what he had said really which had brought her to tears.

It was the sheer contempt, the way he had looked down his nose at her while speaking as though she still weren't worth anything, as though she hadn't done better in her exams than him and gotten onto the same apprenticeship. It was infuriating, but more than anything else it was depressing.

Hermione had sort of gotten used to thinking that those kinds of attitudes were over – maybe it had been her own fault for surrounding herself completely with people who supported or loved her the past few years, but she'd all but forgotten there were still people out there who hated her for something as simple as her blood.

It just made her feel hopeless – Hermione would be the first person to admit that it hurt her a lot when people didn't like her, even more when they didn't respect her. It was pretty much unbearable for her to consider the fact that a whole host of people would never accept her achievements, never see what a good person she was just because she had muggle parents.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." She mumbled to her reflection as she dabbed a little more at the stray tears which had graced her cheeks. A large part of her was also pretty much certain she was crying due to her and Ginny's argument, but Hermione's mind wasn't ready to open that can of worms just yet.

There was still the whole matter of Theo Nott to consider. Hermione's abdomen tingled a little at the thought of him, the way his breath had felt against her cheek. She wasn't foolish, she knew his pursuit of her was undoubtedly the method he always employed when trying to get a witch into bed with him – but would succumbing really be so bad? It would piss of Malfoy, show Ginny she didn't care for her opinion but most importantly would take care of that passion she was so desperately seeking.

Hermione pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind for the moment, resolving to speak to Pansy about it later – possibly while they watched yet another season of Friends.

At that thought Hermione managed a smile. She wiped the last of her tears away and decided she had probably spent a little too much time in the bathroom hiding.

Slipping out of the loo, Hermione scanned the full drawing room for the specific redhead she did want to speak to at that moment in time, and the one she wanted to as she had predicted, Harry and Ron were sat together, both looking a little bewildered at the sheer number of guests with James seated merrily on Harry's lap.

They were sat at the edge of the room on one of the several soft blue armchairs chatting to each other but avoiding pretty much everyone else. Hermione noted with a small smile that they had however managed to raid the food table which was situated in the very centre of the room.

Hermione made a beeline for her two male best friends, slumping into the chair next to Ron with a huff.

"Blimey Hermione, I didn't realise Ginny had decided to provide entertainment at this children's birthday party, though it was rather extreme for my tastes." Ron grinned, wrapping her in a one-armed hug as Harry stood up to do the same.

Hermione forced a small laugh, but her mood did improve slightly as her other best friend deposited his son onto her lap. She realised as she took little James' hand in her own that she had probably been a little too harsh on Ginny, at least on the baby front, if she had one of these she probably wouldn't want to leave it alone either.

"I know, I really am sorry about that it was completely out of line." She sighed solemnly, bouncing James up and down lightly on her knee, causing him to giggle.

"Brilliant, so you're going to apologise?!" Harry asked excitedly but his expression immediately fell as Hermione shot him a stern look. "Ah right. So, can I assume by that you meant that _Ginny_ was out of line?" He corrected sadly.

"I wouldn't say I'm not at fault, but it's not as if I was the one who brought the matter up. She also didn't have to call me a slag quite so many times." Hermione muttered as Ron now launched into the inquisition.

"Yes, so, about that." He began timidly, his face flushing to match his hair. Hermione decided to save him the awkwardness and explain away.

"I am also sorry about that being blurted out before I got a chance to speak to you, it really wasn't anything, I got horrifically drunk on Friday and wound up snogging Theo in a club." She breezed past the matter quickly but saw from both of their facial expressions that they weren't going to let her off lightly for this one.

Ron raised an eyebrow and his lips twitched as Harry just stared at her open mouthed.

"Oh, so it's _Theo_ now, is it?" Her redheaded friend quipped, and Hermione frowned, but before she could even open her mouth Ron managed to respond (which he considered quite an achievement). "Don't worry I'm just messing around, Nott's actually alright, we've known him for a little while because of Ginny's quidditch."

"And he's friends with Blaise and Tori." Harry chipped in, causing Hermione to look at him in bewilderment.

"It's _Tori_ now is it?" She teased, "But seriously how come I've missed out on all of these friendships forging? It can't have been hiding in that cave with Bullstrode too much surely?!" A small part of her began to wonder if she'd wound up being the silly, house prejudiced one out of the three of them. That thought elicited a small shudder, it was far too embarrassing.

"Well it's not like you were ever interested in quidditch." Ron answered.

"Or that you have playdates with James." Harry pointed out, and it was this which caused Hermione to blush.

It was rather a sore subject, her and babies. Apart from anything else, she had just ripped her friend a new one in front of a room full of her friends and relatives because she was jealous Ginny had gone off to have a family instead of spending time with her single female friends. But it was a little more than that and Hermione was almost certain Harry could tell. He probably saw it in the way Hermione's eyes melted when she looked at her Godson, or how even the sight of the Zabini twins earlier had caused her to light up. Hermione was a little baby crazy, and it was awkward as she was about as far from having one as a woman could get.

She was generally quite confused about where she wanted to be in life, she supposed part of it came from the influence of her two best friends. On the one hand there was Pansy, rolling in night after night recounting her illustrious affairs with the sexiest men known to the wizarding world. Then on the other was Ginny, happily married with a rather adorable son who had taken a strong liking to Hermione and made her feel broody for possibly the first time ever. To top it off her own love life was a complete mess involving three men intimately and around seven others she had snogged - hardly a satisfying and adventurous series of affairs, but also not the companionship Ginny had found in Harry. It was exhausting.

"Well yes of course you're right about all that," Hermione said quietly, her eyes still lowered, though she played it off as though she were staring intently at James' little fists. "I just thought you might have a problem with it, I meant to let you know first."

At this Ron actually snorted, Hermione looked up in surprise.

"We don't get a say in who you date Hermione," At her slight wince he corrected himself, "Or who you decide to snog in clubs, it's not like it's any of our business, as long as you're happy we're happy." Ron finished with a grin and Hermione truly could have kissed him. A small part of her bitterly wondered where this mature, caring Ron Weasley had been during their bumbling and jealousy-ridden relationship, but she knew they just hadn't been right for each other. She was actually really glad Ron had realised that too.

"Well, _maybe_ stop kissing random blokes on nights out, and also stay away from Malfoy." Harry edged in, earning him a dark look from both Ron and Hermione. "Alright, alright! Pretend I didn't say anything, kiss all the boys you want."

"I guess except for Malfoy, you could probably do with avoiding that one 'Mione." Ron conceded with a cheeky grin, but Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"You definitely don't have to worry about that, he finds me repulsive and I actually have a very similar view of him."

Both of her boys frowned at the hurt they registered in her tone and reacted quickly, Ron even began scouting the room to see if there was a ferrety blonde face he could smack.

"What did he do Hermione? Did he say something? Did he use that slur again?!" Harry hissed, and Hermione quickly began waving her hands and pulling Ron back into his seat. She really didn't need anymore drama, it was bloody Monday tomorrow – their first day working together!

"Stop it both of you, I'm fine. I'm feeling a little emotional today after the whole Ginny thing and he basically told me to buzz off." She explained slowly, not even daring to mention the crying part. Not only was it embarrassing but she really didn't want Ron to punch someone at James' first birthday party. "It upset me a little more than usual that's all, I'm sure everything will be fine on Monday."

Ron and Harry's expressions of agitation quickly became ones of confusion and Hermione, with a sinking feeling in her chest, realised that with all the drama of the last two days she had completely forgotten to tell them.

"What's Monday…?" Harry asked.

"Godric I'm so sorry, I thought I'd owl you when I finished work on Friday but then Pansy ended up taking me out in the afternoon," Hermione began to explain, shooting Ron a nasty look when he very obviously flinched at the mention of Pansy's name. Good to see he could still be childish when he wanted. "Anyway, I got the job. They're giving me one of the Wizengamot apprenticeships for this year."

It was quite funny to see so many emotions running across their faces at one time, almost changing in unison. There was confusion, excitement, resentment, a little hurt, then excitement again.

"Hermione that's fantastic! I knew you'd get it." Ron cheered, grabbing her yet another drink that she didn't plan to finish as Harry looked at her questioningly.

"Was there any reason you didn't think to tell us before now or…?" He asked a little solemnly and Hermione felt genuinely ashamed. She knew what Harry was talking about, it seemed the days when they were the first two people she would owl or visit with news were gone. She really needed to make more of an effort with all of her friends, it was just difficult seeing Harry so grown up and Ron making his way through all the single witches in London.

"I am truly sorry about that guys, like I said Pansy decided to drag me out afterwards so then I was so hungover yesterday… I'll make it up to you in some way I swear it." She smiled, but Harry was not done asking questions yet.

"Wait, so why did you reference Malfoy when talking about your first day?" His eyes enlarged with dawning realisation, "Don't tell me…"

Hermione nodded sadly and actually did take a chug of the mimosa, feeling like she needed it. She just hoped she wouldn't feel any effects the following morning.

"Yes, he was another successful applicant, along with Theo, Padma, Blaise and Daphne Greengrass." She finished the list with a wince, it really did hurt more each time she said it.

Much to her surprise, Ron was the first to react and he broke out into peals of laughter.

"I mean, you really have stitched yourself up here Hermione," He spluttered, his amusement only increasing as a scowl deepened over her brow. "You find out you're going to be working with the Slytherins, so you get on one of them who's not only your future colleague but is best friends with Draco Malfoy himself? This will be a laugh riot."

Hermione looked to Harry in dismay to see if he would be of any use, but to her annoyance saw that the black-haired man was also snickering. She gave him a smack on his arm, then tugged a stray lock of Ron's hair in an attempt to shut them both up.

"Hey," Harry moaned, pouting as Ron continued to chuckle. "You have to admit he has a point, it is quite funny."

"You are both so insufferable, I can't believe I just grovelled to you." Hermione grumbled, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms angrily while James chewed on a corner of her dress, completely oblivious to the whole affair.

"Oh, come on, as if the two of you have done anything but laugh at my love life recently." Ron pointed out and now it was Hermione's turn to smother a grin.

"Well, if you will insist on making your way through fifth year Hufflepuffs." She commented drily, setting Harry off into fits of laughter once again.

"Enough of that," Ron barked pointing a finger at the two of them as Hermione began giggling. "They're not fifth years _anymore_ , they just happened to be while we were at Hogwarts. Don't be making me out as some kind of perv."

"I suppose you wouldn't want the truth getting out about that Weasley, then who would you sleep with?." Pansy said slyly, appearing from God knows where with yet another drink in her hand.

Just like that the moment was gone. Harry had stopped laughing and was wiping the tears from his eyes whilst nervously eyeing Ron and the girl who had just walked up to them. It was common knowledge that for some reason or another they hated each other more than anyone else on the planet.

Ron too had stopped speaking, all traces of mirth gone from his eyes and mouth and Hermione watched him cautiously. She hated that two of her best friends in the whole world could barely be in the same room together, and she was honestly a little tired of their reasoning.

"She's Malfoy's ex." Ron had said weakly the last time she had brought it up with him. Even after Hermione pointed out that Ron didn't even hate Malfoy himself as much as he hated Pansy, the boy would not yield.

"His freckles disturb me." Had been Pansy's short reply. Hermione hadn't bothered prodding Parkinson as she knew, though the girl would hate to admit it, the fact that Ron disliked her so much hurt Pansy more than a little. Pansy had managed to redeem herself in the eyes of two thirds of the golden trio, the wizarding courts of justice and pretty much anyone else who came into contact with her. The only person who refused to believe she'd changed in anyway was Ron Weasley and it definitely stung.

In fact, Hermione was pretty sure this was why Pansy was so cold and dismissive to Ron, she felt as though she may as well deliver on the image he had conjured up of her – after all there was no point in trying to please someone as stubborn as he was, not in Pansy's eyes anyway.

"Parkinson, are those sunglasses to hide your pug-like features or your tears at not having any friends now that Hermione's sat with us?"

Both Harry and Hermione groaned as Ron responded in the worst possible way, and Hermione was already out of her chair and placing James back onto his fathers lap before Pansy could make her move.

"Why you ugly, over-freckled, strange looking, small-penised," Pansy was gearing up for a drink throwing and screaming match at the very least, and despite Hermione's attitude towards Ginny at the moment she knew she couldn't let this happen at her party, there had been enough disturbance already.

"Think about how I embarrassed myself earlier, huh?" She spoke quietly and firmly so that only Pansy could hear, and the girl's bright blue eyes flickered away from Ron to meet Hermione's. "Think about Ginny and how much thought she put into this party, most of all, think about James."

The anger was already seeping out of Pansy's thin frame, Hermione could tell. She looked away from Ron and towards the ground.

"It's not like the tyke will remember this anyway." Pansy grumbled, but Hermione could tell she wasn't going to do anything. She patted Pansy on the back and took away her glass for good measure.

"No maybe not, but do you really want people telling stories about how his crazy Aunt Pansy threw an orange drink all over Uncle Ron and then beat him half to death in his drawing room?"

At this the other girl's lips twitched, and she looked up from the floor to meet Hermione's eyes once again.

"It's a shame you got in my way because we _both_ know that would have been a killer story," She smirked, and Hermione nodded in agreement. "Instead he'll just hear about how his loony Aunt Hermione snogged a Slytherin and got into an argument with his mother about what constituted a whore at his first birthday party."

Hermione groaned, and could have sworn she heard Ron laugh at that comment and then swiftly vacate the area.

"I forbid you to spread such lies to my godson." She responded sternly.

"Why? He'll need something to leverage you with when you won't stop forcing him to do his homework." Pansy grinned, linking arms with a still protesting Hermione as they moved on to speak to Astoria and Blaise at the other end of the main table.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she watched Pansy and Harry chatter away with the Zabinis, and hoped one day Ron would be able to join them as well.

* * *

 **So there you have it! Wanted to get a little bit of Harry and Ron in here (who I love) as I fear with the apprenticeships starting and Hermione dealing with the Slytherins they won't be featured all that much!**

 **Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. I know there wasn't much Dramione action but this fic is a bit of a slow burn, got to gear up to these things ;)**

 **See you soon-ish, a review or two would be lovely - thanks again for all your comments so far :) x**


	5. The Job

**Back again! Got some set up to do in this chapter so still thin on the Dramione front but I hope you like it anyway! Thanks for your comments, follows and favourites so far they really make my day :)**

 **So here's day one at the ministry and a little more detail on where this story is headed - hope you enjoy x**

* * *

"Looking spiffy today," Pansy commented as she chugged down an espresso over the morning prophet. "I like it, you look like an adulterous CEO."

Hermione shot her a nervous grin and smoothed down her tight black skirt. She had opted for a burgundy blouse which had cost a lot more than she normally spent on office wear, nude tights and her nicest black pumps. The entire ensemble was probably worth more than her nicest party dress, and she'd been holding off wearing it while still stuck in the dingy filing rooms with Bullstrode.

"I hope that's a compliment and not a hint I should be toning it down a notch." She replied with a slight tremor in her voice. This was the first day of the rest of her career – she wanted to make a good impression - especially on her new boss. Although Hermione knew Percy Weasley led the programme, she also knew her connections to his family wouldn't do her any favours – Percy was incredibly committed to his job and to remaining unbiased. "I still don't understand why you made switch all of my sensible trousers for pencil skirts."

Pansy rolled her eyes and continued pouring over the financial section. Though she may have behaved like she was above such boring matters, Pansy was an intelligent witch and liked to know how her investments were doing. It still confounded Hermione that she could even understand the stock market.

"How many times have we had this conversation now Granger? It doesn't hurt to add a little more style to your wardrobe." She took another sip of her too-strong coffee. "Besides, with an arse like yours it _pains_ me that you want to hide it behind un-shapely trousers."

Hermione flushed and pulled the paper out of Pansy's hands, smoothing her skirt down once again and wishing she still had a few pairs of her formless trousers. She wanted to stand out today, but for the right reasons – not because her arse looked good in a skirt.

"Come on we're going to be late if we don't get the floo now." She nagged, causing Pansy to roll her eyes once again. She'd once said that living with Hermione was going to cause her to go blind before she was forty with all the constant exasperation, a comment she still stood by.

"Hermione we're running twenty minutes early. I don't want my department to start thinking I actually care about my job." She drawled, earning her a nasty glace and a tug on the arm.

"Don't play that with me Parkinson I know you love what you do." Hermione said sternly.

It was true, Pansy did love her job – and she'd barely had to do anything to get it. Her grades at Hogwarts, while they hadn't stood out, had certainly been above average. Though she hadn't decided to go back and take her NEWTs, students were awarded their predicted grades anyway and she'd done quite well. Add to that that she was possibly the most accomplished linguist the ministry had ever seen, and it didn't matter if she took three unsolicited days off in a row, the Department of International Magical Cooperation was never going to get rid of her.

"Alright _fine_ , I guess I could stand to get to the break room biscuits first this morning." Pansy groaned, dragging herself out of one of their armchairs and obediently following Hermione to the fireplace, albeit at an irritatingly slow pace.

Hermione couldn't even find it in her to be annoyed at Pansy's attitude she was so excited. She'd actually been up since about 5 (despite not starting until 9am) pondering over what to wear, how to introduce herself to the rest of the successful applicants. The more worrisome issue of whether or not Theo would behave she had pushed to the back of her mind – she wasn't going to let anything ruin this day.

"Granger, running late I see." A slow, all too familiar voice drawled the instant she stepped out of the floo and into her new department.

Determined not to let Malfoy get to her as he had the previous day she merely shot him a tight smile and took a seat next to him at the entrance to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Already the hallway was bustling with activity, a few Aurors she recognised flew past, though she didn't catch sight of Harry or Ron.

This was the place to be, the most exhilarating and illustrious part of the ministry, bar the minister's office himself. She couldn't help but grin as figure after figure brushed through on their way to work – she was part of it now.

"Well don't you look as though Christmas came early!" Padma Patil chirped, wrapping Hermione into a hug before taking a seat beside her.

Although Hermione would never admit it, she had always slightly preferred Padma to her Gryffindor counterpart. Though both of the twins were lovely, bubbly people (also a little too prone to gossip) Padma had a slightly more reserved and quietly intelligent air about her, an intelligence which had been verified in the third best NEWT scores of their year group. Also the two of them had the same interests when it came to muggle affairs (much to her surprise, even half-blood Padma found the muggle history of South America incredibly fascinating) and they'd had many enjoyable chats about such matters.

"Isn't it just so exciting?! We get to be part of one of the ministry's most important organisations." She exclaimed, toying with her hair which she had decided to pull into a high ponytail for her first day. It had taken a whole lot of time with both her muggle straighteners and her wand in front of the mirror that morning to get it to appear as sleek as it was, and even with that her hair still had a slight wave to it.

"I know it truly is an honour, I can't believe we're going to be lawyers! Are you leaning towards defence or prosecution?" Padma babbled, but was interrupted by the arrival of the three other successful candidates.

Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott arrived together along with the older Greengrass, Daphne. Unlike her sister who had long honey blonde hair, Daphne's was silky chocolate and cut into a sleek bob which accentuated her pretty, pixie like features. She too was dressed as formally as the other two women, it impressed Hermione slightly that the Greengrass hadn't opted for a flashier or form-fitting outfit. Maybe it really was time she started getting over these preconceptions she had about the Slytherins.

Hermione had always felt a little insecure about her looks, but being in such close proximity with one of the famously beautiful Greengrass sisters was doing even more to harm her self-esteem.

"Good morning." Daphne said with a slight smile, extending her hand to shake Hermione's and Padma's while the two men beside her simply went over to speak to Draco. "Congratulations on your NEWT results Hermione, I hear they were the best in years."

Hermione was surprised that Daphne had directly addressed her, and with none of the spite or bitter jealousy she had become used to hearing from Malfoy. Despite her porcelain features and delicate beauty which Hermione had previously perceived as cold, Daphne spoke with honest admiration, and her smile was warm.

"Th, thankyou Daphne and same to you, you have obviously done exceptionally well in recent years to gain a spot here!" She smiled back nervously as the Slytherin nodded her thanks and turned to congratulate Padma.

Hermione was quite shocked, but also felt a little guilty. She knew most of the people here had been out of the public eye for a long time, but she was beginning to think she should have taken the advice of her friends and gotten to know them a little – it wasn't like she hadn't had the opportunity. Pansy had regularly invited her along to their high-society parties, and even Harry had mentioned something about Hermione joining the Potters and Zabinis for lunch a few times. She was starting to wonder if they had been right and it had been her prejudices, not her busy schedule which had held her back all these years – after all it was obvious Daphne did not see her as inferior, Nott also had made that especially clear.

"Alright everyone!" Kingsley appeared seemingly from nowhere, successfully hushing the group into silence the moment he spoke. "I just wanted to swing by to congratulate you all once again on obtaining a place in the Wizengamot, provided this goes well of course," He winked but his tone indicated he was deadly serious. "I'm going to pass you over now to your boss who you will be answering to for the remainder of this year – good luck!"

With one last smile and a gesture towards Percy Weasley who was stood ramrod straight at his side, the minister of magic left as quickly as he had come. Hermione was actually impressed he had even taken the time to come down to their department, she knew how busy his schedule was and took it as a compliment.

"Hello everyone, my name is Percy Weasley and I am currently the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I've studied all of your files extensively and have to say I think this is the best bunch of applicants we've had since we re-opened after the war." He said with a cheery smile. Hermione could have sworn she heard Malfoy snort from beside her, and shot him a nasty look.

"I will of course be giving you a tour of your new department shortly, and then we will be straight into your usual working day. I'll hand over your schedules first, so you know your hours and where you are expected to be at what time." He gestured to a pretty young witch who Hermione assumed was his personal assistant stood beside him, she was pretty sure it was Penelope Clearwater, a girl who'd been in Percy's year at school. Penelope began passing out slim files with each applicant's name stamped on the front in dark blue ink.

"Essentially think of this experience as an extension of your education – if you were to attend one of the wizarding or muggle universities, this might be considered a foundation year," Percy explained as each of the six young witches and wizards before him began eagerly sifting through their pack. "For the first few months this will certainly resemble a school, with lectures and research you will need to complete independently. However, we begin to include the more practical element in November after you're given a case study in October."

Hermione flipped through the pages of information she had in her file. There was a schedule on top which she assumed was pretty much identical to the other apprentices, except maybe for the timetabled hours with a personal tutor. They only had a few lectures a week, and in the later months those too decreased. By January it appeared almost all of their work was untimetabled and practically assessed – experience with real cases and real defendants.

She skimmed through some of the example cases they would pass through over the year. It seemed there were a range of different offences, from petty crimes and misdemeanours such as harmless spells cast by underage wizards or accidental muggle encounters, all the way up to unforgiveables and murders.

She shuddered as she flipped to the last page. The mottled, cruel mugshots of three death eaters were sneering up at her, some of them spitting into the camera. She recognised all three of them immediately – they had actually been all over the papers more and more recently, being the last three remaining death eaters awaiting trial. Two of them she hadn't recognised until the Prophet had begun spewing endless information about their crimes and personal histories in the past few weeks; Walden McNair and Corban Yaxley. The third, she had no trouble recognising.

Hermione grimaced a little at the face of Rodolphus Lestrange who was laughing maniacally in his picture. As if it wasn't enough that the man was a death eater and his wife had been the most hateful woman Hermione had ever had the misfortune of meeting, he'd had something of a personal vendetta against Hermione since that day in Malfoy manor all those years ago.

Hermione remembered his filthy, snarling face as he'd grabbed hold of her in an empty corridor during the Battle of Hogwarts, he'd promised to defile her in a way his wife had not been able to, and cursed her vilely for causing Bellatrix's fall out of favour with the Dark Lord.

Hermione had never told anyone about it for two main reasons; firstly, Rodolphus had then let her go. She'd found it incredibly odd, and would almost have almost preferred it if he'd tried to kill her instead of giving her one last terrifying stare and leaving her on the floor of the hallway, petrified of getting up. She hadn't wanted to risk this being twisted in a positive light by the defence if he went on trial – evidence of a death eater turned good in the heat of the battle - and so had decided not to bring it up. Secondly, she was more than a little embarrassed, and still afraid of the man. She'd stood there and done nothing while he'd shoved her against that wall, in fact if he had decided to kill her, Hermione wasn't sure she would've been able to stop him. It had haunted her ever since.

"Ah yes I see what most of you are intrigued by. We decided to introduce these men to the practical element this year as we are now a little more experienced in the trials of such individuals." Percy smiled slightly as he noted that each of the six apprentices before him were staring with mixed emotion at the three death eaters on the last page of their information packs. "The main assignment of this programme will come in the summer of next year – as well as a formal written exam – when the practical component comes to an end in the real-life trials of each one of these men."

Hermione's jaw dropped, and her fellow apprentices were also mirroring her reaction in their own expressions of shock. Padma looked strangely excited, Blaise and Theo had shock mingled with grim apprehension while Daphne and Draco just looked slightly ill.

They were all more than a little surprised. Hermione's first thought when she'd seen the faces of the three death eaters was that they would be another element of the written exam – a case study for each of them to look into while actual qualified, experienced wizarding lawyers took on their cases in reality. She definitely hadn't expected this.

"I know this may come as a shock, but part of the reason the six of you were selected as apprentices this year was that we don't doubt your abilities, and fully expect that by the end of the year – especially with our expert coaching and close monitoring of your progress - the six of you will be perfectly capable of either defending or prosecuting these men." Percy said calmly. He had expected the intense reaction to the change in the practical element of this year, but he wasn't lying. He and the minister had discussed at length who they thought would be best to take on the cases, and they also didn't believe it was too much for apprentices to take on.

The ministry wanted to create the very best lawyers the wizarding justice system had ever seen – and what better way to utilise some of the best Hogwarts graduates in decades than to have them take part in the trials of three death eaters. He had also ensured they would not have to come into contact with high profile figures such as Bellatrix Lestrange or Antonin Dolohov, who had already been administered the kiss the previous year.

"I am confident that this will not be too much for any of you, but of course part of the reason of us telling you this on your first day is to give you the opportunity to decline the position." Percy continued, his tone a little kinder than before. "Rest assured none of this will be outside of your capabilities, in fact we have chosen three relatively 'low-profile' death eaters – if there is such a thing – whose crimes were not as abhorrent or cut and dry as their colleagues. Though this undoubtedly makes the cases harder and is the reason why it has taken so long for them to come to trial, we think you are up to the challenge. But if you disagree you are obviously able to speak to me afterwards and you can leave the programme."

He gave one final smile before finishing up on the topic, wanting to move on to the tour and their first few introductory lectures.

"The other benefit of these three being left to stand trial is that none of you have any sort of direct connection with these men. They were outside of the inner circle of death eaters and did not commit any crimes against you or your family members." Percy said confidently, and Hermione swallowed, hoping she hadn't turned as green as she felt. "Now, any questions?"

* * *

Following the shocking revelation of the morning, Hermione had calmed down and settled in a little more by lunchtime. They had first been treated to an all access tour of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement which had ended with a tour of the Wizengamot itself. Hermione had very nearly squealed in excitement as Percy had unlocked the doors to the chambers of wizarding justice, the place she had been wanting to walk into since finishing school.

After that they had had two introductory lectures, they would be receiving a crash course in both defensive and prosecuting criminal law (with muggle aspects included much to Hermione's delight) before November, enabling them to decide what they wanted to specialise in. Their third module of sorts was based more in common legal practise and the structure of the justice system. This would be their shortest course as the six of them had done extensive readings and their knowledge had been tested in interview for their apprenticeships – it made sense that they wouldn't be starting from scratch going into the programme.

Hermione was first into the canteen for their break as she was eager to go over her notes from their lectures and make a few lists about what she needed to be reading extra for and when. She took a seat in a back corner and pulled out her Tupperware.

"See when I saw you running for the hills I thought you were excited to finally get a break, should have known it was to do more reading." Theo smiled teasingly at her as he took the seat opposite her and pulled out his own sandwich he had bought from a local artisanal deli that morning. Even though it was just a bloody sandwich, Hermione couldn't help but feel slightly inadequate at her own ham and cheese she'd made herself the previous evening.

"Yes well, I wanted to make sure I could get suitably ahead in my reading." Hermione replied curtly, offering him her own professional, tight lipped smile.

"Of course you did, sounds like my girl. Keep your penis in your pants while we're at work Nott, would you?" Pansy shot him a cheeky smirk as she slid into the chair next to Hermione, effectively boxing her in so she couldn't make her escape.

"Pansy!" Hermione spluttered in surprise as her friend pulled out an expensive looking salad. "I thought all the departments had slightly different lunch times to prevent overcrowding?"

"You know I can do pretty much whatever I want," Pansy said with a wave of her hand and a smile. "I decided to take my lunchtime now and enjoy the cafeteria, after all I _know_ you hardly ever take my advice and eat out." She explained, rolling her eyes as she popped a cherry tomato into her mouth.

"Sounds about right, can't believe you can stand this place Granger." Blaise Zabini commented cheerily as he took the seat next to Theo and shot Pansy a friendly smile. "Good to see you Pans, Alberto's for lunch tomorrow instead?"

Hermione barely had time to react to yet another Slytherin invading what was supposed to be a quiet lunch time when Daphne appeared from nowhere and sat down beside Pansy.

"Ooh count me in I just love Italian food," She beamed prettily, shooting Hermione a slightly apologetic look as she too pulled out a fancy looking salad. Hermione once again looked down at her sad looking ham and cheese and Tupperware. She couldn't believe she was getting packed lunch envy. "I could even call for a reservation tonight, they owe me a favour."

"Sounds brilliant, I can't stand sandwiches anyway." Theo replied before Hermione could even begin speaking. He could probably tell she was planning on excusing herself and had other ideas. "How many is that for lunch then? We should definitely invite Padma too."

Pansy grinned wickedly at the mention of her Ravenclaw friend. Padma was, when she did go out which wasn't too often, almost as wild as Pansy Parkinson herself. Hermione was pretty sure the two of them had only narrowly avoided criminal charges on a few occasions.

"Yes I love that bitch, where is she today anyway?"

"She had to make a few calls during lunch, but she's been quite the companion today. She was telling us about your association with Wayne Hopkins the other weekend – didn't know you had a taste for Hufflepuffs now Parkinson." Blaise chimed in with a smirk and a comment which caused Hermione to blush though it had nothing to do with her. To be fair, house loyalties aside Hermione had also been surprised to come across Pansy with her lips securely fastened to sweet, funny Wayne.

Pansy just groaned, seemingly unable to blush probably because it wasn't becoming. Hermione always marvelled at the way her friend was constantly able to look regal and controlled, even when embarrassing stories about her hook ups were being discussed.

"I changed my mind I don't want Patil to come." She grumbled, causing everyone at the table to laugh.

"At least he's attractive, remember when I had that brief fling with Pucey?" Daphne said reassuringly patting her friend on the hand. "And anyway, we still need to decide how many that is for lunch, all five of us obviously, Padma…"

Daphne trailed off and looked at the boys expectantly, obviously wanting one of them to breach the awkward blonde subject none of them wanted to mention. Hermione was still a little bewildered at the entire situation, especially somehow securing herself a lunch date with four Slytherins for the following day. However, she managed to recover her senses enough to put in her two cents.

"Don't worry about it, I'll make other arrangements for lunch if Malfoy will be a difficulty. I'm sure Harry and Ron will be free anyway." She said brusquely. She supposed it was sensible enough to organise a colleague lunch for the six of them to get to know each other a little better, but it was also more than a little bit strange and Hermione had no trouble passing her invitation over to Malfoy.

Her comments did not get the reaction she had expected. Pansy shot her a rueful, bitter look while the other three just smirked.

"Blimey, she really is as bad as Draco, I thought you were exaggerating Pans." Blaise commented drily, causing Hermione to look up in indignation and surprise. She was _nothing_ like Malfoy, what on earth were they talking about.

"Yes, you know Granger, for someone who so continuously preached house unity after the battle of Hogwarts you certainly are eager to avoid the three of us." Theo said, looking at Hermione so directly she shifted a little in her seat.

"It's nothing to do with houses," She spluttered desperately, "Excuse me if I have a little trouble accepting your past, given what happened I think that should be acceptable."

It was now Daphne's turn to speak up, she had been looking a little uncomfortable at the slightly more confrontational tone their lunch had taken on, but at Hermione's excuses she spoke.

"Well that's simply not accurate, in mine and Theo's case in particular." She said calmly, and Hermione found herself blushing once again. "Neither of us ever once spoke to you at Hogwarts, and you know for a fact none of us took the mark or supported Voldemort."

Hermione felt her blush darken, this was of course true. All three of the Slytherins sat before her had barely even been questioned after the war. The Greengrasses, despite their father's slight affiliation with the Dark Lord were far removed from death eater dealings, and though both Blaise and Theo's mother and father respectively had been supporters, the boys had not. In fact, Hermione also knew that the two of them had been under the order's protection from their own families after declaring their opposition to Voldemort before the war even began - and Pansy she knew was a victim of her family as well. All of them sat around her were innocents.

"Daphne's right, and if you still hold a grudge over the few times I insulted you during our school days, your relationship with Harry and Ron must be quite strained considering how many times you three got into arguments." Blaise pointed out, causing Nott to chuckle lightly.

"In fact Hermione, if your basing your avoidance on how people treated you in school we both know you and I should still be enemies." Pansy spoke quietly, and Hermione's shame only deepened as she read the earnest look on her best friend's face. Pansy was practically begging her with her eyes to stop this unnecessary dislike she held for the girl's other friends.

"Alright, alright." Hermione spluttered, holding up her hands defensively. She felt a little bit like crying. It was hard having a mirror held up to her unreasonable actions, she'd known deep down that her contempt for the people sat around her now was illogical and unfounded, but it was difficult being held accountable for her actions. She supposed maybe she _had_ been a little unfair, but couldn't believe she had essentially been ambushed into admitting she was wrong.

"But all of you are still very close with a man who cannot say he is innocent – he was both a death eater and a vicious bully." She replied, grasping at straws a little with her words but still meaning them. She _did_ resent people associating with Malfoy and acting as though he had done nothing wrong.

But this too was met with titters and eyerolls from her companions.

"Well that's more than a little immature of you, Hermione." Theo said, his words stung but his tone was soft and almost apologetic, as though he understood how difficult it was for her to admit she was in the wrong. "We all know that Draco was coerced into his actions during the war, and he paid the price both literally and emotionally afterwards."

"I appreciate the two of you aren't going to be bosom buddies," Pansy continued, taking Hermione's hand in her own as if she could sense her friend's desire to bolt from the uncomfortable situation. "But it's not for reasons which make him a bad person. He's not a death eater and he doesn't still ascribe to those outdated ideas on blood purity – some people just don't get along."

"Besides, it's not like a relationship with Draco is something you've held against Pansy." Daphne said quietly, also shooting Hermione an apologetic smile. This conversation had effectively become an intervention, all they'd really wanted to achieve was a lunch date for the group of them.

"What we're trying to say is that it would just be a whole lot easier and more pleasant if we could get along. This is a high-pressure environment which demands some kind of cohesion – regardless of what Draco thinks." Blaise explained and Hermione found herself nodding. She could see his point, even if she was still very embarrassed. It wasn't easy having some of your biggest character flaws being pointed out over lunch.

"Also, you're a pleasant witch to be around." Theo added coyly, causing Pansy to kick him under the table.

"I suppose one lunch wouldn't be so bad…" Hermione mused. "And I do see your point about working together... I _may_ have been acting a little immature." It was more difficult for her to admit than she'd expected. _Blimey_. Hermione thought, _maybe I really do have an ego problem_.

"Excellent!" Pansy cheered, spearing the last of her lettuce with a small plastic fork and beaming brightly at her brunette friend. Hermione couldn't help but smile back. She realised that all of her silly ideas about the Slytherins and how they behaved had probably been hurting Pansy quite a lot, especially how she'd reacted once she'd found out she'd be working with them.

Maybe a little change would be good, it would certainly please Harry as well.

"See this is how she's nothing like Draco," Theo pointed out with a grin and a wink at Hermione, setting her off with a deep flush yet again. "That stubborn prick wouldn't even listen to our suggestion about lunch, never mind come around almost completely."

Hermione wanted to ask how long they'd been planning this ambush, and why Pansy thought it was a good idea to surprise her completely with the suggestion instead of chatting her up about it first. But as Daphne shot her a grateful smile and Theo offered her his apple after noting the bruise on hers, she decided that could wait until later. After all, it was enough to be deemed officially better than Malfoy at something by a group of his best friends. That really had boosted her ego.

* * *

 **I love me some Slytherins! Sorry there wasn't much Draco in this chapter, had to set out a few bits & bobs for the future plot, but the next chapter gives a little more of an insight into his life post-war and his feelings, I'm excited to share it with you! **

**Tell me what you think of Theo! Does he genuinely like Hermione? Is he playing a game to get in her pants and annoy his best friend at the same time?!**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading - a review or two would be much appreciated, see you next week! :) x**


	6. The Malfoys

**Hello everyone, back again! Sorry if there are any typos here - I've been over it many times but I am quite sleepy today ;)**

 **So this week we get a look into Draco Malfoy's mind to find out what's going on with that moody son of a bitch! Tell me what you think!**

 **Lucy x**

* * *

Draco Malfoy wasn't paying attention. He sat alone in the overly large lecture theatre (there were literally six of them, there was no need for such exorbitant space) and bored holes into the back of Hermione Granger's head.

She'd been furiously taking notes for the duration of the hour, and before the poor lecturer had even finished asking if there were any questions her bloody hand had shot up into the air.

To make matters even worse she was seated next to Daphne, who had even seemed to be chatting quite merrily to the other girl as they'd walked in from lunch.

Malfoy's scowl deepened as he doodled his quill across his blank piece of parchment. This whole thing stank of Pansy Parkinson - she had been nagging him for years to spend more time with her new found Gryffindor friends, but of course he had adamantly refused. It wasn't like he was still bothered by houses, well, he would never spend time with a Hufflepuff and tended to avoid Ravenclaws and Gryffindors due to their sense of self-righteousness, but he didn't actively _hate_ them.

Really his problem was _her_. Well, her and her two abominable friends. Draco wasn't really that bothered by Ginny Weasley, who he'd been forced to spend time with when she'd played professional Quidditch, but he could _not_ get on board with becoming bosom buddies with the golden fucking trio.

That small, irritating and persistent voice in the back of his head (which sounded slightly like Hermione Granger herself, typically) pointed out that the reason he couldn't bear to be around them was guilt. Guilt and a healthy dose of embarrassment over their time in school coupled with his disastrous involvement with the Dark Lord meant that Draco Malfoy could hardly look any of them in the eye - and besides, why would they want to spend time with him anyway? He'd made all three of their lives miserable for several years and then betrayed their beloved, hapless headmaster. There was no redeeming that.

Draco shook himself out of the cloud of self-loathing he had allowed to engulf him for a few dangerous minutes, and instead decided to focus on why he was so angry with her on that particular day. She had somehow managed to infiltrate the only group of people he actually trusted and enjoyed spending time with - probably deliberately to make him squirm.

He wondered briefly if she too remembered the New Year's Eve party almost three years ago. If the reason she kept somehow getting closer to him was that Hermione Granger also thought of the way their mouths had melded together, hot and explosive in one of the many dark rooms of the Weasley abode.

He shook himself from that daydream as well - another dangerous thought for him to indulge in. The strange allure of the Granger girl was just another reason to detest her.

In light of this, he had in no uncertain terms told Theodore and Blaise to shove it when they'd grabbed him on the way out for their break earlier and asked if he'd be interested in lunch the following day – a lunch with _Granger_. This was getting preposterous.

He'd been able to hack Granger and Parkinson being close friends, he had and always would have great respect and love for Pansy, and also knew first hand what a complete arsehole her father was. It was good that she'd found a friend with whom she could properly be herself, someone who'd been able to support and encourage her rather than allow her to wallow in her own misery.

Draco frowned once again, _that_ was a Pansy quote. She'd broken up with him just before he'd fled Hogwarts with Severus all those years ago. Things hadn't been right between them for a long while, in fact looking back Draco was pretty sure they'd never been good.

He and Pansy were two people truly destined to be friends and nothing more – hell sometimes they even had trouble managing that. She was in fact closer to a sister, someone who was always around and had always been around to the point where it had sometimes gotten on his nerves. Sixth year had been the real test for the two of them, what with Draco's impossible task and effectively his being under duress from the evillest wizard in the universe. Not to mention Pansy had been struggling under pressure from her father to take the mark, it had naturally tested their relationship.

In the end they both failed that test and knew it. Draco had snapped, effectively telling Pansy to just take the mark and stop wittering on about her father's behaviour. Pansy had accused him of "wallowing in his own misery" – not actually tackling the problems he was facing or going to anyone for help but allowing himself to be pushed around and move further and further away from himself every day.

She had been right, obviously, and even though her words had hurt, and it had felt as though she were betraying him, it was a piece of advice (albeit a harshly worded one) that would stick with him for years to come. Draco had certainly managed a fair bit of wallowing after the war, but it was Pansy's stern words and her passionate glare which had allowed him to keep moving, to rejuvenate his father's business as a charitable organisation and pursue a career in the Wizengamot.

It didn't stop her being a meddlesome wench, however. He thought bitterly as his eyes narrowed when Daphne whispered something to Hermione and they both smothered a few giggles.

"You're doing it again." Nott muttered to him as he strolled up to Draco, notes folded under one arm. The blonde blinked and realised he had distracted himself almost completely. The lecture was over and everyone else was getting ready to leave.

"Doing what?" He spat angrily, quickly covering his blank piece of parchment (well, blank except for a doodle of a firework).

"Oh please, this is classic Malfoy. You get utterly caught up in something which is bothering you and lose focus. I was with you through sixth year at Hogwarts remember? I don't think you completed a single piece of homework." Nott smirked and Draco was irritated that he was able to be read so well, especially by Nott who he was starting to dislike.

"So maybe I forgot to write anything down in this one. It was an introductory lecture, there was barely anything important to be noted." He hissed, focusing his already irritable expression onto his shorter friend. Nott clearly didn't mind - he was so difficult to read and even _more_ difficult to annoy. Draco would have to devote more time and attention to that.

"So go on then, what is it? What's got you staring angrily at Granger for hours on end?" The brunette quipped, Draco had to smother a growl. Salazar save him from drop kicking Nott across the room.

"Maybe I'm a little tired of all of my friends suddenly becoming obsessed with her, how _sweet_ you're all taking her out on a lunch date." He snapped, hoping his tone wasn't giving anything away. He wasn't actually _that_ sure why this whole Granger thing bothered him so much - she had been friends with Pansy for years and despite his reservations about that it had never affected his and Pansy's relationship.  
"But anyway it hardly matters, Alberto's is a shithole."

He was lying. It was one of his favourite restaurants and Nott probably knew that, but Draco was already pushing past him and swiftly moving towards the door. He was glad that lecture had finished the day off because he honestly didn't know if he could take much more of Theo's prodding, the man was insufferable.

* * *

Nott stood, still smirking, for a few minutes as he watched Draco leave. This was all just so entertaining. He was jolted from his thoughts as the three witches moved past him on their way out of the lecture, and decided to pursue the other person capturing his interest at the moment.

"Hermione, wait one moment will you?" He called, shooting her a dazzling smile when she looked back at him in confusion. The witch blushed and told Padma and Daphne to go on, lingering near the exit to the lecture theatre with a quizzical expression.

"What is it Nott?" She asked politely as the wizard caught up to her and they began to stroll out towards the fireplaces.

"Theo, please." He smiled once again before continuing. "Though I am immensely pleased you have decided to accompany me and my friends tomorrow for lunch, I was actually hoping to organise something a little more private."

Hermione's expression remained confused, she clearly wasn't getting the mammoth hints he kept dropping. Theo was beginning to realise why it was Hermione had remained single for so long after dating Weasley – and even why she'd settled for him in the first place. She was a beautiful, kind and intelligent woman, but didn't seem to be able to notice when a man was hitting on her. How absurd.

"I'm asking you out on a date Hermione." Theo said, throwing caution to the wind.

A dawning look of realisation broke out on Hermione's face, quickly followed by a flush of pink to her cheeks.

"Really? After the palaver that was lunch?!" She exclaimed. In reality she could think of a million other reasons why Theodore Nott wouldn't want to ask her out, but she decided to go for the most recent and one of the most embarrassing. She really had looked a fool during their break in the cafeteria, she was starting to wish she'd just taken Pansy's advice a long time ago and let go of her silly concerns. She was already getting on with Daphne like a house on fire.

"Well, I was hoping I could take you out somewhere nice and help convince you that us Slytherins really aren't that bad," Theo chuckled, gently touching Hermione on the arm. She still jumped a little in surprise at the gesture. "Although I think you were already coming around to us a little anyway."

Hermione chewed her lip and pondered the options she had available to her in this situation. On the one hand, Pansy's golden rule; "don't shit where you eat" (meaning don't mix personal life with work) was flashing through her mind. It would be quite risky to get romantically involved with Nott, especially as they were working together in a high-pressure environment all year. Yes, the sensible side of Hermione was definitely telling her that this was a terrible idea.

However, the other side of Hermione – the one she usually fought so hard to control but was currently running her life a little more if her recent actions showed anything – was begging her to go for it. From what she remembered of their kiss, Theo had made her feel excitement in a way not many had, and there _was_ the added bonus that engaging romantically with him would piss off Ginny and Malfoy. She thought about Ginny's long list of insults and complete failure to understand Hermione's dating woes, and then of Malfoy glaring at her when she'd come back from lunch with his friends and made a decision.

"Yes that would be lovely." She declared confidently. It wasn't often she took risks like this, but already her heart was racing and she felt butterflies in her stomach. Maybe Nott would prove to be the passionate element of life she was searching for.

"Excellent!" The wizard beamed, hardly believing she had agreed to this. He wondered about how to slip this into conversation with Malfoy the next time they saw each other, the bloke would breath fire. "How about Thursday at 7? I could pick you up from your place?"

Hermione could barely hide her embarrassment as she nodded and shakily scribbled her address down on a piece of paper. She actually couldn't remember the last time she'd been properly asked out by a man, dating seemed to be a thing of the past. She normally just went out with Pansy and would occasionally talk to a man (or kiss him on even rarer occasions), and when she and Ron had been together he'd not made much of an effort to take her out. She was excited.

"I look forward to it." She tried a confident smile and gave Theo an awkward hug before basically running for the fireplace to floo home. She _had_ to tell Pansy about this.

* * *

Draco almost stumbled coming out of the fireplace in his home, but caught himself just in time. He'd been so eager to get out of there what with Nott's infuriating tormenting after their final lecture that he'd practically leapt in at the ministry.

He flung his briefcase down onto one of the soft armchairs in his sitting room and flicked his wrist, lighting up the room and his fireplace. Though it was only September he loved the glow of an open fire and wanted to treat himself after such a trying day. He called for his house elf who appeared immediately with a crack.

"Good evening Mopsy," He said with a sigh, positioning himself in front of the fire and kicking off his shoes. "Would you fetch me a whiskey?"

It was only just three o' clock but the good thing about house elves was they were incapable of judgement, especially when it came to their masters. His elf nodded and disappeared once again, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Mopsy technically belonged to the manor, and so when she was gone he truly was alone in one of their country estates. Draco hadn't been able to stomach staying in his childhood home, even though his mother was alone there. The war had brought with it too many unsavoury characters and memories, things that when he had been living there had preyed on his mind far too much. Even here, completely alone in the quiet Wiltshire countryside was preferable to staying in that dark place.

The nightmares still plagued him though, he suspected they would bother him wherever he went, whoever he was with. That happened to be the reason why though he brought plenty of women back to his home they rarely stayed the night.

His mother had actually suggested seeing a healer about the violent and disturbing dreams, dreams which had for a while caused him such anxiety he had simply avoided sleep. But he had persistently refused to see someone about it. Of course she had labelled him a masochist, infuriated that her son wouldn't take care of himself when he clearly had such a debilitating problem, but Draco had his reasons.

Self-punishment was part of it, that was for sure, but the main reason was simply the fact that everything terrible he had seen during the war he had been on the wrong side while viewing it. He had stood by and let atrocities happen, he hadn't suffered alongside his friends and family like the countless other people affected by the war. He thought of the faces of the Weasley family when they had stood in the Great Hall at Hogwarts and been forced to count their dead and shuddered.  
The pain was his burden to bear, it was only right.

"Here you are sir!" Mopsy reappeared with a silver tray and filled glass, along with a bottle of whisky should Draco be so inclined as to forget the day the only way he knew how. "I was told to remind master that he has a meal with missus Malfoy later this evening at the manor."

Draco rolled his eyes as he took his first sip. Undoubtedly mother didn't trust him to remember his engagements, or to remain sober enough to see her at 6 o' clock – one or the other.

"Yes I'm aware, please assure Narcissa I'll be right on time, you are dismissed." The elf disappeared for the final time and Draco placed his drink back on the tray and his head in his hands. He was slipping back into his old ways and it seemed that little brown-haired witch was the cause.

Straight after the war he had pretty much devoted all of his time to moping. Either lying in bed thinking of his father and how he would have to testify against him, or drinking and trying to forget that fact. Neither he nor his mother had expected that the evidence they were both required to give against him would put him away, in fact they'd been led to believe the opposite, that he would be pardoned due to his limited action against the side of the light. What had surprised them even more was Lucius' reaction – the man had all but disowned Draco and refused to allow either of them to visit him in Azkaban. The only way Draco even knew he was still alive was that his bank account hadn't yet expanded to include the Malfoy fortune, which was still under his father's name.

Following that times had been pretty bleak. As he'd been reminiscing earlier, it was actually Pansy and her fury at him spending all his time drunk or hungover which had gotten him to make some decisions. She had come to him when he had lost all hope in the world, even though she had no real obligation to do so. It had saved him.

He'd left the manor to his mother and moved his things into a house he barely remembered they had, a fresh place to begin his new life. He'd taken up his position as chairman of the board at his father's old company and had converted it to a charity which sponsored the support of endangered magical creatures instead, and he had begun his application for a position on the Wizengamot.

But now he could feel himself slipping. He couldn't stop remembering that blasted night all those years before, that moment in the upstairs bedroom when he'd come across her crying and they had found solace in one another for a few short minutes.

It was definitely her fault. Her fault for bloody being there all the time now when he'd been able to pretend she didn't exist for over two years. Well, it was both their faults, Hermione's and Nott's, Draco probably would have been able to cope if they'd just been working together.

It was Nott's constant lewd comments or suggestive looks, they were causing Draco to relive that night just a little too much. He couldn't stop remembering how soft her lips were and how they'd tasted of strawberries mixed with salt; lip balm and tears. Every time Nott looked her up and down Draco didn't even need to look himself to remember how long and smooth her legs were, how good her arse felt even through the material of her short dress.

He shook himself from his reverie and swore out loud. It was ridiculous, he couldn't believe how much his stupid lust for a witch he'd only shared a few kisses with was affecting him. He just needed to be with another woman, forget about the irritation he felt when he thought of Nott's lips touching the ones that still haunted his dreams nearly three years later. It was just generalised sexual frustration as he'd been going through a bit of a dry patch. That was all.

He groaned and took a long swig from his drink, ignoring the burn as he did so. He was trying his best to block out the nagging thought whispering to him that it should have been _him_ out that Friday who happened upon a drunk and over excited Hermione Granger, not bloody Theodore Nott.

* * *

"You're scowling dear, you know I hate it when you pull such a face." Narcissa Malfoy took a delicate sip from her glass of wine and studied her son sat across from her at their large dining room table. There was something unspokenly sad about how long and empty their grand table was, especially considering there were usually half the number of people currently sat at it each evening.

"Sorry mother, a lot on my plate at the moment." Draco replied dully, biting into his steak with a little more force than was probably necessary.

"Well yes I was wanting to speak to you about that actually, how was your first day?" She asked with a polite smile, hoping he would lighten up a little at the mention of the position he had worked so hard for and deservedly obtained.

"Terrible." He said sharply, causing her to narrow her eyes and stare at him expectantly until he elaborated. "Alright, alright. The programme sounds as fantastic as I assumed it would be, with one slight hitch unfortunately."

"And what's that?" Narcissa asked with a slight frown as she delicately cut into her meat.

"The biggest portion of the assessment is a real-life trial we have to prepare for, we are either defending or prosecuting an actual criminal in custody."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad, in fact it's what the entire apprenticeship is leading up to so you had better be prepared to do such a thing." She pointed out, but Draco held her gaze and shook his head.

"No mother, you don't understand. They want us to prosecute or defend Lestrange, McNair or Yaxley."

At this Narcissa stopped cutting up her food and seemed to freeze in thought for a moment. She stared down at her plate and bit her lip to keep it from trembling before she felt composed enough to speak.

"McNair and Yaxley are of no consequence, they were minions at best," She began and Draco nodded in agreement, he had thought the same and he had little doubt what she was about to say would confirm his thoughts on the third death eater. "Lestrange is a little more… difficult. Though we have little personal connection to him, he was hardly a wife to Bella - always off sleeping with the servants, but he is _far_ from stupid and easily led like the others. You may not have encountered him much before, but he is a force to be reckoned with."

"I know, Lestrange is the obvious difficult case," Draco paused and took another bite as he thought. "That _does_ however mean to be able to put him away would be an even greater success."

At this his mother blanched as though she could read his train of thought before he even approached the subject, pointing her fork at him as her voice took on a warning tone.

"If you were to take on Rodolphus you would have to be incredibly careful. I have no doubt in my mind he knows each and every one of you, there is hardly an inconspicuous applicant on that course, he would try his very best to manipulate and upset you – and he would be good at it."

Draco waved a hand dismissively. This had already crossed his mind, and though he would be lying if he said the man didn't intimidate him it didn't stop him from wanting him put away. Draco wanted to be the one to do it, he definitely had the most to prove coming into such an illustrious position in the Ministry with his family's reputation.

"I want him off the streets mother and I think I would be the one out of that group to do it. I know Theo is intelligent and conniving but I also know that his father had a lot to do with Rodolphus, the man would eat him alive." He paused for thought once again and a slight smile touched his lips. Draco knew Theo would be seeking glory with this apprenticeship much like himself, they had always competed for top of the class at Hogwarts and he suspected this would be no different. But if he could convince that bloke Percy Weasley that Theo would not be up to the mammoth case of Rodolphus Lestrange… "That could however work to my advantage."

At this his mother rolled her eyes, but there was an element of mirth there as well.

"Please try to remember that despite all your grievances Theodore is one of your closest childhood friends." She chastised before moving on. "How is Blaise by the way? I saw Astoria and their darling twins the other day in Diagon Alley, those children really are beautiful."

"Bright little rascals too, I was round the other week and they've taken a liking to pulling tricks on their parents, quite amusing." Draco grinned and took a sip from his glass. "Blaise is doing fine, I think he's excited to really get stuck into the course as well."

"I just love the way you speak about Gio and Aurora, when are you going to think about settling down and giving me all the grandchildren I deserve?" The beautiful woman said with a coy smile. It sounded as though she was teasing but Draco knew she was desperate to become a grandmother. Their conversations somehow always ended up at the topic of babies.

"We'll see mother, you know I'm not averse to having children quite soon." He said placatingly, but that wasn't enough for Narcissa.

"Oh but when are you going to bring another witch round to meet me? The last woman you've dated as far as I know was Pansy and that was during school – are you even seeing someone?" She pouted and Draco had to hold himself back from snorting. Oh he'd _seen_ plenty of witches in the last few years, but he definitely hadn't been planning on bringing any of them home to meet his mother.

"I'm working on it." Was his grumbled reply. She didn't need to know about the amount of women who'd been in his sheets since Pansy, it would probably give her a heart attack.

* * *

 **There we have it! I hope you enjoyed the read, I was quite pleased with this chapter and trying to give Draco a little depth. I know he isn't perfect (quite simply shown in his stubbornness and rude attitude to everyone around him ;)) but I think his character is fascinating and has SO many more layers than a school bully.**

 **Anyway hope you liked this chapter! I've got something exciting planned for Theo and Hermione's date - can anyone guess what it is?! ;)**

 **Also hope you enjoyed Draco's conscience getting a voice this time, I just think it would be a bit Hermione, telling him truths he doesn't want to hear and never shutting up ;)**

 **See you next week!**


	7. The Date

**Hello! Wanted to kick this chapter off by saying a big thankyou to _lun27_ for all of her insightful and lovely reviews - she is also writing a Dramione fic at the moment which is a lovely read, you should definitely check it out! **

**I also wanted to say that this is one of my favourite chapters to date, I just enjoy a bit of drama ;)**

 **Anyway thank you all so much for reviewing/reading/following/favouriting - it really is my motivation to continue writing and I love the responses! Thanks so much and hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Before Hermione knew it, Thursday and her nerve-wracking date with Theo were upon her. Following the tribulations of her first day the week had actually gone quite swimmingly, beginning with a second and much more pleasurable lunch with her colleagues on Tuesday.

Hermione had agreed to go purely for Pansy's sake. Well, _maybe_ she was also slightly humiliated at her foolish house prejudices, but for the most part she went because her best friend wanted her to. She'd given herself a small pep talk in the mirror of the ladies' bathroom in the restaurant once they'd been seated at their table, telling herself that it was just one lunch and after that they'd probably all leave her alone.

She found herself hoping afterwards that their meal would become a regular occurrence. Theo had been strangely sweet, though he'd probably just noted the slight air of tension between them since he'd asked her out. Hermione was quite clearly nervous about the whole thing, and so to put her at ease he'd been friendly and positively charming since. His gentlemanly attitude surprised and embarrassed her a little, actions such as pulling out her chair for her before she sat down or bringing her a coffee in the morning were not things she had previously associated with Theodore Nott.

Blaise on the other hand, took a very different approach. Hermione found herself realising why even Ron could tolerate the gorgeous Italian – he was absolutely hilarious. At one point Hermione was pretty sure she'd shot lemonade out of her nose she'd been laughing so hard at one of Blaise's comments. He'd grinned at her outburst and made matters worse by saying:

"That's quite a trick you've got there Hermione, think you could teach it to my wife?"

Hermione had truly thought her lungs were going to explode from the giggling. Oh he was certainly crude, but it was an intelligent type of toilet humour, the kind which had her in stitches even though she was shaking her head and wagging a finger at the same time.

For the first time sensitive, insecure Hermione found herself not minding if someone made a few jokes about her. Blaise made her feel comfortable and included when he messed about – even if some of his comments were at her expense - she felt for the first time like she was properly in on the joke. It was one which she actually found funny too, not like Ron giggling incessantly about unicorn poo or something equally ridiculous.

Obviously Pansy had been on top form too, making her usual sarcastic comments and lewd remarks. Hermione found she could barely contain herself around the combination of both Pansy and Blaise, they seemed to play off of each other and had their table in heaps of laughter every few minutes, much to the annoyance of the other patrons.

She was also surprised by Daphne. Though the two of them had managed a few friendly conversations on the Monday, Hermione had been worried the beautiful woman was pitying her somewhat – treating her nicely because it was what Pansy wanted. However, after a few days with her Hermione realised that was not the case.

There actually seemed to be an element of solemn loneliness about the stunning brunette, she was quite eager to sit with Hermione in their lectures or seminars, and shyly seemed to want to be included with her and Pansy. Hermione thought for the first time what it must have truly been like for a woman like Daphne Greengrass, someone almost as removed from the war as a first year student at Hogwarts.

Daphne and her sister had been kept completely in the dark about their father's dealings with the Dark Lord, in fact, they hadn't even known he had returned until the Ministry officially confirmed it. Both girls had assumed they were neutral, but had suddenly been thrown into a world where their father was imprisoned in the worst wizarding jail known to man for paying Voldemort to keep his family safe, and everyone on all sides detested them. The death eaters for their testimonies of innocence and the Order for their apparent connection to Voldemort. She had been alone for years except for the small community of alienated purebloods around her, so it was no wonder Daphne Greengrass was in search of a few true friends.

It was this which had caused Hermione to feel truly guilty for her silly prejudices she'd held since the war, the pain and nervousness she saw in Daphne's eyes as the woman approached her each day. She was starting to see that her feelings had never really made sense, especially not since she was so close with Pansy and had been able to see past all of _her_ previous affiliations.

Daphne Greengrass had done nothing wrong, and Hermione felt terrible for avoiding and even bad mouthing her for such a long time.

But despite all of the new connections she'd managed to forge in her first few days of her apprenticeship, there was one figure who remained completely unmoved. Malfoy had actually not even interacted with her since the first day, and it seemed he was giving up on his friends too.

Hermione had even ventured to ask Theo about it earlier that Thursday as Draco once again shot out of his seat and was first to leave their lecture from the very back of the room where he sat on his own.

"If he wants to be a child Hermione let him be one." Theo had responded calmly, as though the matter didn't concern him at all. "Draco always has been ridiculously stubborn, though I'm disappointed in his behaviour recently I can't say I'm surprised."

And that was that on the matter, Theo had quickly changed the subject and begun talking about their date later on in the evening, which of course had distracted Hermione quite well as she immediately flushed and began stammering through her words.

"Lost in thought or rethinking the outfit?" Pansy queried from the doorway of Hermione's room as the brunette continued to stare absent-mindedly at herself in the mirror.

Hermione jumped out of her reverie and shot Pansy a nervous smile. Theo had said to dress smart, which was unfairly vague. She had absolutely no idea where he was taking her, and smart could mean anything from jeans and a nice top up to a ballgown.

"Bit of both I suppose." She mused quietly, pondering over what she had thus far settled on wearing. It was a dark green dress, quite tight but it came down to her knees, but she still wasn't sure, it seemed a little promiscuous. Then again she tended to think most of the clothes Pansy had her buy were too promiscuous.

"Well you look fantastic in that number, I would." Pansy said with a grin and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not that I don't appreciate the compliment, but you would shag a bloody lamp post." She grinned back as Pansy placed a hand to her chest in mock horror.

" _First_ of all, I happen to be quite picky over who I bed, I just get a lot of offers. And secondly that was a very odd choice of noun – a lamp post?!"

Hermione groaned and was about to try and justify her random comment when Pansy's phone chirruped from her pocket and the other witch frowned at the screen. Parkinson had been given a mobile along with the majority of ministry employees so that it was easier to reach people in an emergency or just send news. It tended to be a lot more efficient than owling.

"What? Is it work?" Hermione too was perplexed. She knew Pansy didn't use the muggle technology often, and she also wasn't likely to be called in for an emergency at the ministry – they knew she worked at a far more leisurely pace.

"No, it's a social call," Pansy chewed her lip as she quickly began tapping the keys to respond. "I just wasn't expecting it, little annoying." She looked up and dropped Hermione a dazzling smile as if she'd remembered she was speaking to an audience and not just mumbling to herself, before rushing in to give her a hug.

"Look something's come up and I have to run, have fun on your date and stay calm, he's not going to attack you regardless of what Ginny might say."

Hermione's mouth popped open in shock. Pansy was her life support at this moment in time, she couldn't prepare for a date without her, especially not one with bloody Theodore Nott.

"You're leaving?! You have to help me!" She commanded, though her voice was a little shaky. "What if I say something embarrassing? What if he stands me up?" She rambled, and Pansy laughed.

"You will _definitely_ say something embarrassing, but he finds that endearing about you. And there's no way he's standing you up, he's been on about this all week!" She reassured her nervous friend before sliding her phone back into her pocket and moving towards the door. "Tell me all about it when you're back, and remember don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Hermione snorted, that left her with almost limitless options. She turned back to the mirror and began trying in vain to tame her frizzy brown curls. She normally only got frizz when it was really humid, so she could only guess her hair was misbehaving today out of sheer cruelty.

After a few minutes of trying she gave up and whisked her unruly mop into an elegant bun. It was a little similar to how she wore her hair for work, but she doubted Theo would mind.

She checked the clock and hissed a curse under her breath as she slipped into her low-heeled patent shoes and grabbed her bag from the bed, he would be here any minute.

In fact, he was right on time, appearing at her door just a few moments after she'd put her shoes on.

Hermione opened the door feeling rather flustered, but at least in her final rush to get ready she'd forgotten about her nerves and was actually smiling as Theo greeted her.

"Hermione you look simply gorgeous this evening." He said with a grin, passing her a small bouquet of roses. Her eyes widened in surprise, she didn't particularly like roses, but it was a kind gesture. They still reminded her of Ron and his constant efforts to appease her after they'd argued. She would always return home after work to a bouquet of bright pink roses on her kitchen counter and a scrawled apology note. She'd told him time after time that her favourite flowers were actually tulips and she thought roses smelt a little too sickly, but of course he hadn't paid any attention.

"Thank you, Theo, you look rather dashing yourself!" She said politely, although already a blush was creeping up on her cheeks. She really needed to get back in the dating game, it had been far too long. She forgot about her petty quibble with his choice of flowers – something he really couldn't have known any better about – and resolved to enjoy the rest of the evening.

"Let's make a move then? Our reservation is for five past the hour, so we should probably apparate now." He extended his arm to her which she gladly took, bracing herself for the swoop at her navel as they cracked away from her doorstep.

* * *

By half past nine Hermione had no idea what on earth she'd been so worried about at the start of the evening. Theo had taken her to the nicest wizarding restaurant in London – in fact it was a little fancy for her tastes, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. Their conversation, while it had begun a little awkward, had definitely loosened with the bottle of wine he ordered.

They'd ended up discussing things past work and into their personal lives, which Hermione hadn't ever thought would happen with Theodore Nott. Of course, it had remained light and airy, they'd covered topics such as muggle traditions and holidays, what her parents did and all of Theo's holidays since the war.

She had a strong feeling he was holding a great part of himself back from her, from everyone even. Theo was most definitely a closed book, he hadn't shared much about his own childhood or anything about his family, and she knew this was deliberate. It wasn't like Hermione _wanted_ those types of conversations on a first date in a posh restaurant, but she had a sneaking suspicion Theo wasn't the type to open up at all. She had brushed this thought aside once he'd suggested they order dessert – a man who appreciated cakes was certainly something she (ironically as the daughter of two dentists) looked for.

Hermione was slightly saddened at how she had already picked so many holes in the blossoming relationship between her and Theo before it had even truly begun. She had wondered briefly if it was simply something to do with her – if her standards were far higher than what she could get and she was setting herself up for misery. But then again, she had never been one to settle either. It was all too much to consider over chocolate lava cake and she found herself wishing she wasn't so predisposed to rethink absolutely everything.

Once they'd finished their meal and Theo had quite literally fought with her over the cheque (he insisted he wasn't trying to use money to control her or be sexist, but she was still a little irritated he hadn't at least let her tip) they headed outside into the mild September air. He had proposed a walk along the streets of muggle London for a little while before it got too late, and Hermione had gladly agreed.

"Well, fancy seeing you here." A snide voice interrupted their pleasant conversation and Hermione froze. She couldn't believe _he_ was here, intruding on their date after barely looking at either of them all week.

"Draco." Theo said coolly, clearly thinking along the same lines. "I would ask what _you're_ doing here but I think that's perfectly obvious."

Hermione finally looked towards the cause of her irritation and understood what Theo was referring to, Malfoy was clearly on a date. He was stood in a crisp, clean navy blue suit with a white shirt but no tie, and his top few buttons were undone. Hermione had to admit he looked quite fetching, but this thought was overshadowed once she studied the witch beside him.

She was beautiful (that much was to be expected, Malfoy despite his history was still named Witch Weekly's most eligible bachelor pretty much every month), with long honey blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Hermione had to stop herself from looking at her ample cleavage on display in the tight dress she was wearing, but was distracted anyway once she blinked a few times and recognised the girl.

"Penelope?! Penelope Clearwater?" She exclaimed, and Percy Weasley's personal assistant flushed, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"Um… yeah. Hey Hermione." She replied a little curtly. It was understandable, this was most definitely a precarious position she'd been caught in.

"I didn't recognise you without your glasses and with your," Hermione cut herself off before she said the word boobs, but blushed so deeply it was quite obvious what she had been about to say. Maybe she _had_ had a little too much wine. "Hair down. Yes, that's what I meant."

Theo smothered a chuckle beside her as Penelope flushed even darker than Hermione, automatically pulling her jacket across her chest.

"But anyway, that's beside the point. Don't you think this is a little inappropriate? Against the rules even?" Hermione snapped, embarrassed at her faux pas but also a little irritated that Penelope would do such a thing. Also, Malfoy had that aggravating smirk plastered across his face and it was doing nothing for her blood pressure.

"Well _you're_ one to talk, Theo is your colleague as well." Penelope retorted hotly, clearly also a little embarrassed and so going on the defensive. This was not the right move.

"Yes, well _colleague_ is a little different to _superior_ isn't it? Such an indiscretion could get someone fired." Hermione hissed, her eyes practically burning molten gold as she glared at the shrinking witch before her. She hadn't meant to get quite this annoyed, but Malfoy had been getting under her skin recently with his ignoring her and all of his friends (it was making work quite awkward and it was only their first week), and now this.

"Oh come on," Surprisingly it was Draco who decided to reply to Hermione, and he snorted derisively. "She's Percy Weasley's secretary, that's _hardly_ my superior."

That was _definitely_ not the right move. Penelope gasped in indignation and pulled her arm away from her date, stalking off down the street and almost tumbling in her spindly heels as she went.

"Well now look what you've done Granger." Draco sighed, shooting her a nasty look.

"What _I've_ done?! You're the one who just insulted his date, who by the way, you shouldn't even be seeing, I won't have corruption in my workplace Malfoy. I'm going to have to report you." She ranted back, barely aware of Theo's presence at that point. This was very reminiscent of their school days, she and Malfoy seething at each other in the hallways, ignoring the consequences if it just meant they could get a lick in.

"Jealous? You know Granger if you wanted to be the one on my arm you could have just asked." He grinned as she basically growled in response.

This evening had taken a rather interesting turn for Draco Malfoy. He'd asked the Clearwater girl out because she'd been following him around most of the week and he'd decided it was his libido which had caused him to become so restless over Hermione fucking Granger recently. He'd expected a quick fuck and then some awkward conversations at work for a while before he could forget the whole thing, but this was a lot more entertaining.

"What is it with you? Why do you set out to ruin every bloody aspect of my life?" Hermione screeched, her hair coming loose from her bun in tendrils which framed her fuming face. "What did you, follow us here or something? Decide to bother us when we're out because you don't have the guts to say anything at the ministry?"

Draco frowned. Now he was getting a little irritated. He'd actually chosen the restaurant because he happened to like the food there and he wanted a decent meal before going to bed with Clearwater for the night. He hadn't known anything about their date, in fact he was quite annoyed that Theo had even asked the bitch out. This was getting ridiculous and it seemed Theo was getting too attached to an annoying wench who needed to stay out of all of their affairs.

" _Actually_ , Granger this happens to be a rather excellent restaurant for getting a witch into bed on the first date, isn't that right Theo?" He shot his friend a nasty smirk as Theo blushed bright red and tried to hide his embarrassment.

It was actually Theo Nott himself who'd given the restaurant that very rating (word for word in fact) but he certainly didn't want Hermione to know how many times he'd been there with other women. He'd actually been enjoying their evening until his cock of a friend showed up.

Hermione pretended not to notice Theo's embarrassment and hoped that hadn't been his intention with her. Well, even if it had been there was no way it was happening now. She instead moved to grab his arm and wheel the two of them away. She'd had enough of Draco Malfoy for tonight, for a lifetime actually, and she wanted to get back to her flat for a good night's sleep.

"And another thing, before you leave." Draco stepped in front of them, glaring right into Hermione's eyes as he spoke, Theo was yet again relegated to the side-lines as the two of them glared into each other's eyes furiously. "I will date whoever I fucking well please Granger, and it's none of your business. If you want me to respect your relationship with Theo than you had better respect mine with Penelope." He didn't actually know where he was going with this, his rage was currently fuelling him, well that and a decent amount of lust. Half her hair had come undone now, her eyes were damp and glowing with fury, she looked wild. Salazar, he needed help.

"Relationship!?" Hermione yelled as he turned to stalk away after his date who couldn't have gotten far in those ridiculous shoes. "I thought you were going to shag and dump the witch like you do everyone else."

"No need to be so wrought up just because some of us are getting action, Granger." He called back, not looking behind him but smirking to himself when he heard her howl in frustration. He _really_ needed to find that Penelope girl and muster up a convincing apology, she could prove to be very useful.

* * *

Hermione flung the door to her apartment open and kicked off her shoes the moment she stepped into the living room. Theo followed behind, doing the same but quietly aligning their shoes by the door and closing it behind him as he went.

He had been oddly silent since their bust up at the restaurant, and Hermione was nervous as to how he would react to her losing it over Malfoy. She hadn't meant to ruin their date, and she couldn't help but feel quite guilty at how her presence seemed to be affecting Theo's other relationships.

"Theo, listen," She began nervously, wringing her hands as she turned to face him, her anger already ebbing away. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that, it must have been horrifically embarrassing for you and I promised myself I wouldn't get in the way of yours and Draco's friendship,"

He moved towards her determinedly, and for one wild moment Hermione thought he might slap her, but instead he cut her off by grabbing her by the waist and enveloping her in a deep, passionate kiss.

She broke away blinking in surprise and looked up into his stormy blue eyes in confusion.

"I've been wanting to do that all evening, do you know how sexy you look when you're angry?" He asked with a grin, causing Hermione to blush and break his gaze.

Theo Nott wasn't having any of that, he was tired of sitting back and allowing Draco to play with everyone's emotions. He certainly wasn't going to let their date go to waste. He gripped her closer to him, once again capturing her lips with his, but this time gentler.

He manoeuvred the two of them towards one of the plush sofas, sitting down first so that he could pull Hermione onto his lap and feel her arse in that tight dress. She gasped as he pinched her none too gently and then broke away from his lips, much to his disappointment.

"Theo… not that I judge other witches for their choices or anything, but I don't like to… well not on the first…" She stumbled over her words and he responded by kissing her soft lips once again. How did she always taste like strawberries?

"I know. I also know that what with Ginny's description of me and my antics you probably have a little trouble trusting me." He smiled kindly, kissing her softly on the cheek. "And that's ok. I didn't buy you dinner tonight so I could get in your pants Hermione."

At this she giggled, realising not for the first time that Draco Malfoy's words had gotten to her. He had all but ruined their evening showing up with that Clearwater bint, it was ridiculous, and now his lewd remarks were making her doubt Theo?

Fuelled by a sudden rejuvenation in her rage against Malfoy, Hermione grabbed hold of Theo's lapels and pulled him towards her, grinding against him as she deepened their kiss. She felt excitement building in her chest as her tongue cautiously met his, feeling the warmth she'd searched for so long and had lacked in her previous encounters. It wasn't explosive, it wasn't fireworks on New Years Eve or sparks from an open flame, but it felt damn good.

Yet again Hermione found herself overthinking things. Even a few glasses of wine deep, feeling a little heated and in a pair of confident hands there was something about the whole thing bothering her, like she had unfinished business elsewhere she still needed to attend to.

"Jesus, I didn't expect to walk in and see you two fucking on the sofa."

Theo groaned as Hermione pulled away once again and jumped up off of his lap. He really couldn't catch a break tonight with Hermione and his so-called friends. Hermione on the other hand was slightly relieved at the interruption, her overactive mind had been telling her to pull away before she gave him the wrong impression. She still wasn't sure about the whole thing.

"Pansy!" Hermione exclaimed, realising what a state she must look. Her hair was completely down now and extremely tousled, her skirt had been hitched up and obviously – she had been caught getting hot and heavy with Theo in their living room.

"S'alright, carry on, just need to get ma shoes off…" Pansy was currently on all fours in their hallway, how she had managed to get the door open was beyond Hermione, as the girl couldn't seem to stand up for longer than a few seconds in her heels.

"Where on earth have you been?!" The brunette exclaimed, hauling her friend to her feet and wincing. For a slim little witch Pansy was not light. "You smell like whiskey. And sex." She said with a grimace.

Pansy laughed, stumbling once again and nearly pulling Hermione down with her. She landed back onto the floor with a bump, but was so inebriated she didn't seem to mind.

"Those happen to be two of my favourite things!" She crowed, trying to pull off her strappy heels whilst lying on her back like a toddler. It was rather amusing.

Theo clearly thought so, as he smothered a laugh before rushing over to the girls' aid. He grabbed Pansy up by her armpits and then pulled her over his shoulder, carrying her fireman style into her bedroom.

Pansy bashed her fists against his back as he walked, but she too was laughing, her hair flopping into her face as she blew raspberries at Hermione.

It took both of them to put her to bed, Hermione finally managed to get her to lie still enough to pull her clothes off and replace them with pyjamas, all the while Pansy was singing the Hogwarts school song at the top of her voice for some reason or another.

Eventually she was passed out, snoring away and drooling a little with one arm flopped lazily over her eyes. Hermione closed her bedroom door quietly and gave Theo an apologetic look.

"I assume you've already guessed this, but I'm going to bed. I'm really sorry, but it's so late, I'm exhausted, we have work"

He cut her off once again with a kiss, but a chaste, polite one this time. Theo may have been keen, but he wasn't stupid or desperate.

"I know." He said softly with a smile. "Good night Hermione, I'll see you tomorrow."

He went to the door to apparate and Hermione sighed as her roommate hiccupped in her sleep.

"Oh Pansy," She mused, picking up her shoes and heading to her own bedroom. "What are we going to do with you?"

* * *

 **What's going on with Pansy? Does Theo actually like Hermione? And what on earth is Draco Malfoy planning?! Hehe, it's a bit like a soap opera!**

 **This chapter was really fun to write so I hope you enjoyed reading it, and maybe to entertain me a little come up with some answers to my questions above in a review or two?! I love hearing your thoughts!**

 **As always thanks for reading, I might post quite soon again as I'm really on a roll with this story at the moment (RIP uni work lol), thanks lovelies! xx**


	8. The Problem

**Hello again! I did mean to update earlier this week but have had rather a crappy weekend so I apologise for that, will hopefully get a bit more writing done over the next few days :)**

 **So this chapter has the inevitable girly catch up and Pansy's analysis of the date, as well as a teensy bit more drama from our boys! I really hope you enjoy it and consider writing a review to cheer me up ;)**

 **Thanks as always!**

 **Lucy x**

* * *

Hermione didn't think she'd ever faced a day at work quite so exhausted before in her life. By the time she and Theo had gotten Pansy into bed after not only a late meal but a prolonged confrontation with one of her least favourite people it had been close to 3am.

She sat slumped in her seat, furiously making lecture notes despite her lack of sleep – there was no way she was going to fall behind in her studies because she'd started dating.

Hermione found herself blushing at the thought, it had been such a long time since she'd dated someone. Though she felt really quite bad for how her and Theo's evening had ended, something she'd said to him first thing that morning when she saw him waiting outside one of their study spaces, he'd assured her he had still enjoyed their date.

It had been a pleasant night. Hermione thought, allowing her mind to drift slightly as she'd read ahead and knew the theory their lecturer was currently explaining. The food had been gorgeous, and while Theo didn't seem to want to open himself up to her she understood that that would take time, it had only been a first date after all. What had obviously soured the evening far more than Theo's closeted attitude had been the appearance of Draco Malfoy.

Hermione's eyes bored into the back of his head furiously, he had now decided to take a seat right in front of her instead of his usual one at the back of the room, and she was sure it was so when he shuffled in his chair or doodled on his parchment she would notice. He was unbelievably childish.

Hermione had also, unfortunately, been unable to dissect the date with her best friend, due to the simple fact of the matter that Pansy had yet to get out of bed. After she'd thrown up for the fourth time that morning Hermione had taken pity on her and owled the Department of International Magical Cooperation to let them know Pansy had come down with something and wouldn't be able to make it into work. Because of that she was feeling a little lost, while Hermione had a close group of friends and didn't usually struggle much when talking to people, she definitely needed all the help she could get when it came to understanding men who were interested in her – Slytherin men were a whole different ball park.

"Any clue why Pansy wasn't at lunch today?" Daphne Greengrass turned to her with a bright smile as the lecture finished and they rose, collecting their things from their desks. Hermione smirked slightly at the comment.

"Well yes actually, she got absolutely trollied and could barely stand up this morning. I left her in bed with a bucket next to her head." She grimaced at the thought of returning in a few minutes, not really wanting to see what state her flatmate was in.

Daphne shook back her sleek brown hair and laughed, grabbing the rest of her quills and shoving them into her bag.

"What an unusual night to go out on the town, although I can't say I'm surprised it was Pansy who went out on a Thursday."

"Well Pansy wasn't the only one, was she Granger?" Draco piped up snidely, causing Hermione to roll her eyes and clench her fists a little. He had driven her up the wall the previous evening and almost ruined her date, she certainly wasn't going to be cordial to him now.

"Yes, Malfoy was out with Penelope Clearwater. Slightly unethical on both their parts if you ask me, I wonder if that's how you got this position in the first place?" She replied drily, but when she turned to face the blonde in front of her her satisfied smirk faltered slightly. He looked furious, his eyes blazing molten silver and his hands gripping the back of his wooden chair with such ferocity it looked as though he might break it.

"Of _course_ you can't fucking accept that I got here on merit Granger," He spat, causing Hermione to widen her eyes in surprise. She hadn't expected he'd care about her comments, after all it wasn't like a _mudblood's_ opinion mattered. "In case you didn't notice in school, although I suppose you were probably too busy licking Weasley's arsehole, I was second to you by next to nothing in nearly all of our classes."

The witch blanched and leaned away, during his rant Malfoy had gotten uncomfortably close to her face, and she could smell his breath with every violently hissed syllable. It was crisp, like fresh apples with newly picked mint, strangely alluring. He caught her reaction and quickly leaned back himself, folding his arms over his chest and shaking his head as if to clear it of anger.

"But since you're so worried about it, I'll have you know Penelope and I saw the Minister about it this morning, and seeing as she's basically a secretary there's no conflict of interest if we continue to date." He sneered triumphantly, and now it was Hermione's turn to slip into a rage.

"But, but that's so unprofessional! She works with us, and oh _don't_ look at me like that it's not the same as Theo and me," She spluttered, floundering for a justification of why she had suddenly become so irritable. "She's, she's so annoying, and barely intelligent, she's undoubtedly after you for your money,"

"Tsk, tsk Granger," Malfoy tutted, his face breaking into an even bigger grin, "Call yourself a feminist? Penelope can pursue whatever career and man she pleases, don't be so nasty."

As if she had been summoned into the room by his words (which she probably had, Hermione wouldn't put it past Malfoy to arrange the entire palaver) Penelope Clearwater opened the door to their now almost empty lecture theatre and strutted in. Hermione realised fleetingly that Daphne had long since left, as had Padma and Blaise. It seemed Theo was watching them from his seat a few rows down, but she forgot to register this thought as Penelope wrapped her arms around Draco's waist and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"Hello Drake, ready for this evening?" She purred not-so-subtly into his ear, her chest practically falling out of her already half undone blouse. Malfoy winced slightly at the nickname, and Hermione made a mental note to torture him about that on another occasion.

"Why yes Penny dear I think I am, might need a few coffees in my system to get ready though, still tired from last night." He leered back at her, before turning back to smirk once again at Hermione.

This was the exact reaction he'd hoped to get from the little brunette witch in front of him. Draco had begun planning almost from the moment he'd noticed how angry Hermione was at seeing him with Penelope to get the witch to stick around for at least the time being, the opportunities were just too great. He was pleased she had already brought it up, enabling him to flaunt his new love interest, but admittedly he hadn't meant to get so irritated by her comments.

It wasn't like Granger's opinion mattered anyway, he thought to himself as she scrambled to pick up her things and move away from him and his clingy new companion. For some reason it just mattered to him a lot that she didn't discredit his achievements. He quickly rationalised that it was because of how unbearable and braggy she'd been during school, how his father had been so ashamed that his own son couldn't even beat a muggle born.

Though there was one persistent, nagging little thought in the back of Draco's mind which wouldn't go away no matter how many times he buried it in rationalities. Asking why it was that a witch as beautiful as Penelope Clearwater still didn't entice him. Why he was so irritated every time he saw Granger and Theo together, why he'd felt angry enough to try and ruin their date, and why it now seemed her opinion of him was so important. He just kept locking the thoughts back up again, along with the treacherous memory of New Years Eve nearly three years ago when she'd put some kind of bloody curse on him – because that was the only rational explanation.

He turned away as Hermione ran down the steps towards Theo and put her arms around him, instead deciding to grab hold of Penelope and engulf her in a kiss.

She moaned quite loudly into his mouth as he poured everything he had into it, every last ditched effort before he actually had to confront those dangerous thoughts in the back of his mind.

It didn't work.

"Theo, wait please, did I do something wrong?" Hermione called, seriously considering kicking off her heels as she tottered after the curly haired brunette who was practically running away from her.

She'd decided after Malfoy's disgusting display to show that she could give as good as he could, but instead of embracing her in return as she thought he would have, Theo had broken apart from her and quickly moved out into the corridor.

Luckily Malfoy hadn't seen that, he was far too caught up in his new girlfriend and her impressive chest to pay any mind to what was going on around him.

Hermione chewed her lip anxiously as Theo slowed and eventually turned around to face her. His face was completely devoid of emotion, and Hermione felt her heart sink as she realised he looked strikingly similar to the boy who would stand at Draco's side in their school days and not even react as his friend had taunted her. He seemed unreachable.

"I'm just surprised how easily you rise to his games, that's all Hermione." He said, and she shivered at the edge to his voice. He seemed irritated, but that was about all she could get from his blank expression.

"I, I don't know what you mean, you know I have a temper and not just when it comes to Malfoy," She began, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she realised just how many times she'd argued with various people over the last few days, it was getting to be a problem.

"It is one thing to lose control and shout at someone in a public place," Hermione flushed an even deeper shade of red at this, "It is quite another to involve and use other people in your games. I expected it of Draco but I didn't expect it of you."

Hermione was still searching for the exact meaning of Theo's words when he clearly grew impatient of waiting for her to speak and waved a hand as if he were giving up.

"I know it's still early days Hermione, but I would like to think you would respect me regardless of that. I will see you on Monday, perhaps then we can talk more." He said, his voice never once changing in pitch or tone as he turned and continued to walk towards the fireplace.

Hermione felt she could do nothing but watch him leave, feeling more than a little hurt at his callous attitude towards her but mostly she just felt guilty. She had a sneaking suspicion she understood why Theo was so irritated with her, but she was hoping for possibly the first time in her life that she was incorrect in her assumption. It couldn't have anything to do with Draco Malfoy, could it? The attention she bestowed on him was _purely_ to put him in his place and nothing more, it wasn't like she had any sort of need to impress or outdo Malfoy – that would just be childish.

Hermione continued to chew her lip as she forlornly made her way towards the fireplace Theo had just disappeared through. There was only one person who could even begin to make sense of the last 24 hours, and she was going to get out of bed and help whether she liked it or not.

* * *

"Pansy!" Hermione called the moment she stepped out of their fireplace and into the living room. She brushed the soot from her shoulders and pulled her hair down from its tightly coiled up do. "We need to talk."

"Does this mean you're breaking up with me?" Pansy shouted back from the kitchen, and Hermione was surprised when she walked in to find her not only out of bed but actually cooking. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Pansy cook a meal herself – what was even more perplexing was the fact that she didn't appear to be using magic.

"Am I in an alternate universe?!" She exclaimed with a grin, taking a seat on one of the swivel stools which accompanied their kitchen island. The room was sleek and clean, with creamy marble counter tops and light brown cupboards and cabinets. Hermione had wanted a modern kitchen which would be easy to keep tidy, but not so modern that it felt unfeeling and monotonous.

Pansy shrugged, moving to turn off one of the burners and drain her rice. Hermione noted when her friend moved to reveal the counter she was working on that 'clean' was no longer an adjective she could use to describe her kitchen. She _knew_ there was a reason she preferred it when Pansy didn't cook.

"I couldn't find my wand when I woke up a few hours ago but I was starving so I thought I'd just make it the muggle way." The raven-haired girl explained as she put the pan of strained rice to one side and moved back to her chicken and vegetables which were still cooking. "My wand was under the bed, I think I kicked it there when I was getting up to be sick."

Hermione winced and decided to jump in with her question before Pansy could go into any more detail. She didn't want to know what sort of state the bathroom was in.

"What on earth happened to you last night? I haven't seen you that drunk in a _long_ time, which was especially odd as you were just going out on a 'social call' and not a piss up as I remember?"

Hermione probed while fetching herself a glass of water and was taken aback when Pansy actually blushed – something she was pretty sure she'd never seen her friend do once in nearly five years of living together.

"It was a social call turned piss up, I'll be happy to run you through the night at some point, but I think it's definitely _you_ who has more explaining to do than me." She changed the subject carefully as she mixed her rice in with the spiced chicken and veg. "How was your date with Theo? I want every little detail."

Hermione sighed and sat back down, placing her chin on her hands as she watched Pansy settle opposite her with her breakfast/lunch/dinner.

"It was eventful, but I suppose not for very good reasons." She began, and Pansy winced. "Before you assume the worst, Theo was the perfect gentleman and I enjoyed his company very much."

"Yeah I seem to remember walking in on you enjoying his company all over our living room," Pansy snorted, avoiding the stray clove of garlic Hermione lobbed at her in response. "But anyway, what went wrong? Like I said you looked to be having a good time when I got back."

"In two words? Draco Malfoy." Hermione said bitterly, nodding as Pansy's eyes widened in shock. "He essentially crashed our date, we were just leaving the restaurant and he and his date ambushed us."

Pansy swallowed her mouthful and pointed her fork at Hermione determinedly.

"You have my attention, now tell me everything."

So Hermione did. She explained how the evening had actually been going very well (despite the roses which Pansy also rolled her eyes at; "Why do men always think garish, cheap flowers will win them points? Buy a girl a diamond if you want to impress her") until they ran into Malfoy along with Penelope Clearwater. She then described their confrontation earlier that same day and how bold and lewd the new couple had been in their place of work. She then ended with her and Theo's tense conversation outside the floo points, and how she didn't really understand where she'd gone wrong.

"Oh Hermione, Hermione." Pansy sighed, pushing her clean plate away from her and clasping her hands in front of her for effect. She took on a pose remnant of Minerva McGonagall before continuing. "Sometimes you really are fucking dense."

The brunette reeled back in shock, placing a hand to her chest and frowning at Pansy's harsh words. She could tell from the mirth in her friend's eyes that she was teasing, but the comment hit home – probably because Hermione knew there was some element of truth to it.

"You've got to see where you've upset Theo here? I mean it's blindingly obvious."

Hermione blushed a little and looked away. She had to admit there was a small part of her that was pretty certain she knew what Pansy was about to say. Though she had trouble understanding men and their motives, she could guess at why she'd irritated Theo so much at the ministry – she was just surprised by it.

"Well, even before I begin to psychoanalyse the strange and childish actions of Draco Malfoy, I can tell you exactly why Theo was so annoyed." Pansy explained. "You used him to try and bother someone else. That isn't exactly a stellar way to kick off a relationship Hermione."

"Yes, yes alright." Hermione blustered, waving her hand as if to try and fend off her own embarrassment. "I didn't mean to get that carried away, I just wanted to show Malfoy that, I don't know, that I could one up him I suppose. But I really didn't mean to hurt Theo – I wasn't thinking."

She finished with a pout, ashamed of her childish behaviour a few hours before. She didn't understand why Draco Malfoy was constantly succeeding in getting such a rise out of her – even before they'd begun seeing one another every day his actions had riled her up. She remembered her outburst last week while drunk with Pansy, all he'd done that time was bump into her by accident in a corridor and yet she'd managed to prattle on about it for several minutes to one of his best friends. He just had an uncanny way of pushing her buttons like no one else could, it was infuriating.

"I can bloody well see that Granger, I mean _really_ it doesn't take a genius to see that's not a nice thing to do to someone you're going out with." Pansy continued but laid off a little once she realised how upset her friend was. "But anyway, we all make mistakes and I'm sure Theo appreciates that – if anything you could use this experience as evidence that he does actually care about you."

Hermione chewed her lip and nodded thoughtfully. She supposed one of the reasons she'd been so perplexed by Theo's reaction was that she hadn't thought he'd care. The Theo Nott she'd heard of didn't give one flying nargle about a witch's motive for sticking her tongue down his throat – he just enjoyed it.

"Well, either that or he wants to manipulate me into liking him." She mused, causing Pansy to splutter out a laugh.

"You are such a conspiracy theorist I swear; can't you just get used to the idea that you're a bloody good-looking girl and men are interested in you? Not to mention that endearing as fuck personality."

Hermione winced slightly at the amount of unnecessary swear words Pansy had just uttered but smiled her thanks in spite of that, the compliments, however aggressive, were well meant. The truth was that it was difficult for her to accept that men might be interested in her. She'd never had much self-confidence, especially considering how people had treated her all the way through school.

She could remember getting her Hogwarts letter just before her 11th birthday and the uncontainable joy she'd felt. Finally there was an explanation for why the other children didn't like her, why they couldn't understand her and didn't want to be her friend. She knew then that the reason everyone had thought her strange and different was because she was literally magical.  
Then she'd arrived at what she thought would be her new home in September only to find that everyone there found her just as annoying, just as intolerable and unlikable.

The only thing she'd ever prized herself for was her brain. No one seemed to care about much else, and until Ron no one had seen her as anything more than a walking library. So now when someone approached her in a romantic way she found it incredibly hard to get close to them, to trust and believe that the reason they wanted to be with her was because of the traits Pansy had just praised her for. She was always slightly afraid it was going to be another plan to make fun of the bookish girl.

It had become a lot easier to just assume the worst of people and avoid letting anyone in. She supposed that was the main reason she found it so hard to get into relationships.

"Yes," Hermione replied softly, still looking down at her hands. "I suppose that would be a bit farfetched."

Pansy recognised Hermione's change in demeanour and decided to hastily move on to the next topic of conversation, not wanting to indulge her friend's self-doubt. Plus, Pansy didn't really do comforting all that well. She did hard truths and the occasional angry compliment.

"Anyway, all of this information you've told me plus the events of the last week or so makes me think that Malfoy has got something going on – I have to agree with you, he's acting more annoying than usual."

At this Hermione perked up a little, she'd been hoping someone would confirm her suspicions. Now she just needed to try and understand what on earth his problem was.

"I've been thinking the same thing, I mean, I know he hated me in school, but I'd assumed we would be past that. At least to some extent." She replied with a frown as Pansy flung her dishes into the sink noisily.

"While I'm not usually one to give Draco any credit, he is an arrogant and petulant arse after all, I've been thinking the same thing." Pansy agreed and sat back down, evidently deciding the dishes were not her problem. "For the duration of our friendship believe it or not he actually hasn't said a bad thing about you, even if you were brought up in conversation he just remained quiet."

"Maybe it's because he has to actually interact with me now," Hermione said, a little put out as it was beginning to look like this problem had no real solution. "I suppose before he could just ignore me and enjoy spending time with all of you guys, now not only does he have to see me every day but I'm hanging out with his friends."

Pansy played with a lock of her hair as she thought, pausing for a little while as she mulled over her response.

"I can see what you mean about the new situation I suppose, I'm just a little disappointed that he still has such a problem with you. It's _not_ do to with blood purity if that's what you're thinking though," She added, and Hermione grinned a little sheepishly. That was exactly what she'd been thinking. "If any one of us ever believed that crock of shit we certainly don't now, I mean you were living breathing evidence every day of Hogwarts that a muggle born could best the fuck out of a pureblood."

Hermione giggled at that, but supposed she saw logic in Pansy's words. They'd had these types of conversations before, mostly at the beginning of their friendship when they used to meet for slightly awkward coffees around muggle London as some weird kind of mutual therapy. Hermione would air her grievances and so would Pansy, it was only natural that her blood status had come up a few times.

She had asked Pansy outright if the other girl had ever believed that muggles and muggle borns were inferior, and Pansy had given her an equally blunt answer.

"Well yes, of course I did. For Eleven years it was all I was taught, in the same way you were told things about muggle history, I was told that there were non-magical beings who were stupid and violent. But I was a child and it was all my parents – the most important and intelligent people in my world – had ever told me. Plus, I had never met one of you, so what was I supposed to think?"

"I see," Hermione had said coolly, and taken a sip from her coffee before continuing to probe. "And you still feel this way now?"

At this Pansy had laughed – and it had been the first time Hermione had seen a genuinely mirthful reaction from the witch. She'd seen Pansy sneer at others or cackle at one of her boyfriend's jokes, but never actually laugh. It was strangely humanising.

"Fuck no! I'm not an imbecile." The other witch had grinned, before her expression turned to one more solemn and she elaborated. "Hogwarts was a life changing experience for everyone, and except those who were truly dense or truly blinded by their parents lies, we all began to see that what we'd been brought up believing was hardly true. We took a fucking class in muggles Granger, in case you've forgotten it was mandatory until OWLs, and then there was you obviously."

"What about me?!" Hermione had spluttered.

"Well you were top of every bloody class! How could the stupid, undeserving, mindless muggles we'd been told about growing up _possibly_ be accurate? You either let your arrogance blind you to these truths like Draco for a while and the Dark Lord, or my father," She gulped a little at the mention of the man who had controlled and verbally abused her all her young life. "Or you wise up and smell the fucking roses."

Looking back, Hermione was almost certain that was the moment she knew she could be friends with Pansy Parkinson. Before that she had grown to respect the woman and understand her, she'd been able to comprehend the actions Pansy had taken and why her childhood had been so difficult, but it was the way she'd bluntly admitted how wrong her prejudices had been that had really impressed the other witch.

"But anyway, I might talk to him about it if he's bothering you that much." Pansy interrupted Hermione's train of thought, and she looked up at the woman who had become her best friend in every sense of the word and smiled.

"You really don't have to do that," She said gently, although admittedly her curiosity was getting the better of her. "If I want to know what's going on with him I may just ask him myself, although _not_ at work, we've had enough drama there for a long time."

Pansy nodded in agreement before making another important point.

"Also, you don't want to keep indulging him if it's bothering Theo. I don't know where his head's at with you Hermione, I honestly thought he just wanted a shag, but he is a nice guy and I don't want him getting messed around in all of this."

Hermione flushed at Pansy's candid analysis of the situation but found that she agreed. There would be no more stooping to Draco Malfoy's level when he tried to play his ridiculous games, no more talking to him if necessary. She would find the perfect time to speak to him in private about whatever problem it was he had with her and sort it so that they could at least continue to work in the same environment.

"Good, so now that's settled," Pansy said with a grin, and Hermione had a feeling she wasn't going to like whatever it was the girl was going to say next. "Time to discuss your birthday next week. I've already planned something for Friday night, so you're not allowed to make any other arrangements. Also, at this social event _please_ try your best not to cause anymore fights."

Hermione groaned and placed her head in her hands as Pansy prattled on about her upcoming 24th birthday. She was really hoping everyone else had forgotten – this did not bode well.

* * *

 **So as you can probably guess we are now gearing up for Hermione's birthday party at which someone might decide it's time for a little confrontation... slight teaser ;)**

 **Please tell me your guesses for what's going on with Pansy! Hermione's missing all the clues so I wonder if you've caught any :)**

 **Thanks again for reading, see you some time in the week :D**

 **(Also sorry if there were any errors, uploaded this quite quickly & late in the evening;)) **


	9. The Fireplaces

**So this chapter is a little bit filler which I apologise for, I also just want to leave a small disclaimer and say that these next few chapters are quite drama filled! (Maybe some of you will enjoy that haha I hope so!)**

 **So next chapter is Hermione's birthday party which I'm really excited for, so excited I'm thinking of an earlier update? We'll see ;)**

 **Wanted to say another thank you to my lovely loyal reviewer lun27 who drew a wonderful picture relating to the chapter before last and leaves the most brilliant comments! (Check out her fic for more Dramione goodness!)**

 **Anyway thanks all for reading, hope this chapter isn't too disappointing and please review! :)**

* * *

Once again, the week flew by for Hermione Granger, who was enjoying the non-practical part of their course so much she almost didn't want it to end. Hermione knew that she was probably the only one who enjoyed researching and learning different theories and applications so much, but it didn't stop her from showing off more than a little whenever one of their lecturers asked questions or gave out quizzes. Luckily she got along so well with (almost) all of her course mates now she hadn't caused much irritation.

She had been avoiding the topic of her birthday consistently, which had proved to be quite difficult seeing as Pansy was unbelievably excited. She'd already told Hermione that she wasn't allowed back into their apartment after leaving for work on Friday (the 19th of September and her 24th birthday) as set up would be taking place there pretty much all day.

When Hermione had asked how exactly Pansy was planning on organising such an elaborate do while also being at work the entire day, the black-haired witch had snorted and explained that she was _obviously_ taking the day off to make sure everything ran smoothly. It was an ominous statement to say the least – Hermione was getting increasingly nervous at the thought of a party for her which demanded an entire day of planning.

She had actually not wanted a party at all, but Pansy had insisted (as she did pretty much every year, and every year they got larger and more and more expensive) and told her to keep out of it. Hermione hadn't even seen the guestlist, though she assumed there would be a few names on there she didn't particularly want.

"The problem with parties," Pansy had explained over dinner on the Thursday night while she scanned her itinerary for the next day, "Is that you can't really exclude anyone without looking like a petty bitch. Also, I sent the invitations out weeks ago so there's really no avoiding Ginny in this situation."

Hermione had wanted to bitterly reply that they could just avoid the whole awkward scenario by not having a party at all, she would have been perfectly content with a Chinese takeaway, bottle of wine and a film. But of course, that was out of the question.

"Your birthday is a shit day if you don't celebrate in the most extravagant way possible." Pansy had explained, as though this were something Hermione really should already be aware of and not just one of her crack pot theories. "It's basically just a reminder that you're getting older and will one day die. You _need_ to get plastered and make the day all about you otherwise you simply risk depression."

As with most of Pansy's strange life lessons, rules or titbits of advice, Hermione didn't bother arguing with her. Apart from anything else Pansy was not averse to firing off a few hexes if she got really irritated in a squabble – something Hermione knew from personal experience.

So, there she was, about to finish her last day of the week at work and unable to return home for at least another few hours. Pansy had even sent an owl earlier that day with a package containing a party dress, pair of heels and a make up bag with instructions to 'not go easy on the eyeliner'. Hermione could do nothing but groan as she'd unwrapped the parcel, dreading the over the top antics her best friend had organised for the evening ahead.

Although parties were not usually her scene, Hermione had to admit she enjoyed all the attention on her birthday. Harry and Ron had already both swung by her department to see her and deliver their own cards, both promising that they wouldn't let Pansy take it too far overboard this year.

"Don't worry about it Hermione," Harry Potter had assured her earnestly as Ron nodded in agreement. "I'll make sure it's just a small get-together when I stop by this afternoon, it won't get out of hand."

Harry however was not reliable on that front at all. It had pretty much become tradition that he would go with Ginny to help set up with Pansy for the party every year, under strict instructions to make sure the women didn't take things too far and plan anything to extravagant. Every year without fail, Pansy Parkinson got Harry Potter so drunk he could barely make it to 10pm – it was actually how Harry and Pansy had gotten over any leftover awkwardness between them and become good friends.

So, the boy who lived was no use to Hermione on the 19th of September, as he was usually shotting vodka with her best friends by 4 o clock in the afternoon and was certainly in no state of mind to double check the guest list didn't have too many people on it. Each year, at around 2pm on September the 20th when he was finally starting to get over his hangover, Harry would declare that he was never going to drink with Pansy again. It had sort of become a routine.

Her day had been brightened considerably however when Theo had given her a bunch of flowers and a card, promising that her gift would be at the party (as per Pansy's strict instructions), although the handover had been slightly awkward. Though the two of them had reconciled earlier in the week with Hermione delivering a suitably shameful apology, she could tell that the subject of Draco Malfoy was still a sore one with Theo, not made any simpler by the fact that Malfoy was _always_ around.

She felt so embarrassed that she'd shown Theo up in such a way and allowed herself to become so enraptured in the games of Malfoy – of all people – and it was clear that a more serious discussion was needed about boundaries in their relationship and how to deal with Theo's irritating blonde friend, but for the rest of the week they had decided to just awkwardly co-exist instead of talking about it.

It didn't help that although Hermione was now making a conscious effort to avoid the blonde ferret, he seemed to be everywhere she turned. He and Penelope were marking their territory as a new couple in the office – snogging every opportunity they got, seemingly always when she was around - it was disgusting. It made her actually miss the stickler Percy Weasley who was apparently busy in another part of their department at the moment – she knew he wouldn't stand for PDA, especially not from his own assistant.

Draco's insufferable attitude, repetitive jibes and constant sucking face with the annoying witch had made things between Hermione and Theo a little uncomfortable as she was always in such a bad mood whenever they spent time together. She tried her best not to bring up the blond wizard on their lunch dates, but it was increasingly difficult as he seemed to also be following them and appearing in the same restaurants – of course with Penelope on his arm.

Not being able to react for fear of upsetting Theo and wanting to preserve her professionalism was driving Hermione insane. She wanted nothing more than to report him for inappropriate actions in the workplace, or better yet to just fire a particularly nasty hex his way – but she was also constantly concerned about pushing Theo Nott further and further away.

She found herself being all the tenser on her birthday as Malfoy had not let up his bothersome torture. He'd surprised her with an explosion of confetti (which smelt of sickeningly sweet vanilla and had been unbelievably difficult to shake from her clothes) when she stepped out of the fireplace that morning and had then ignored her all day. He had still however managed to follow her around with Penelope in tow, giggling and kissing incessantly as they went. It was far too distracting.

"I definitely miss when he was avoiding us all of last week." Theo quipped, appearing at her side and nodding towards where she was currently staring – at Draco Malfoy and Penelope Clearwater who were snogging and groping each other by the fireplaces.

Hermione jolted from her irritable train of thought and blushed at being caught in the act.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you," She began nervously but Theo smiled gently and placed a hand on her shoulder. The gesture was warm and familiar, the closest they'd been all week.

"Hermione, I think it's time you stop punishing yourself over what happened last Friday, I probably let it affect me a little too much." He said kindly, and Hermione felt a wave of relieve wash over her, replacing the jitters that had been distracting her all week. "I know what he's like and I know he's often very difficult to ignore. You made one mistake and sunk to his level, we've all done it."

Hermione had now all but forgotten about the intense public display of affection going on right in front of them, and smiled genuinely back at Theo. She felt a little over come with emotion having been so tense and pent up all week, and enveloped him in a hug.

"I'm so pleased to hear you say that! Obviously I felt just awful after my behaviour last week, but I'm _so_ glad you understand and have decided to forgive me." She babbled into his shoulder, feeling him chuckle at her flurry of words.

She broke away grinning a little sheepishly and began fiddling with her now slightly messy bun out of embarrassment. She hadn't wanted to overwhelm him or come across too strong, she was just pleased the two of them could be friends again.

He was still stood quite close to her, and Hermione felt almost nervous at the flirtatious glint in his eyes.

"Well, don't go thanking me just yet. We still have tonight to get through and you may hate my present." Theo joked, before impulsively pulling her closer. He placed a finger delicately under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his. "I hope you don't mind this rather unprofessional move, but you just look delightful in pink." He murmured, referring to the blossom coloured blouse Hermione had chosen that morning. Though normally such displays at work would have made Hermione uncomfortable – especially after her own embarrassing act a week before – she felt a little like she owed Theo this moment, a real kiss she actually meant, not just one to aggravate Malfoy.

She blushed a shade much darker than her top but closed her eyes and melted into the kiss he bestowed upon her. It was soft and slow, a passionate embrace which left her tingling slightly. But that infuriating, dry and practical voice in the back of her mind wondered why it was that she didn't feel the explosive passion she'd thought she and Theo would share.

The electricity wasn't there, and she wasn't even all that sure she'd missed him in a romantic sense over the past week when things had been slightly uncomfortable between them – what she'd missed most were his witty remarks and friendly gestures. She'd just missed _Theo_ , not kissing him.

She brushed those thoughts aside and raised her hands, running them through his silky brown curls as she attempted to immerse herself a little bit more in the moment. They were interrupted by a strangled cry of disgust mingled with disbelief, and the couple broke apart to see Draco Malfoy angrily glaring at them.

"Can we help you?" Theo asked coldly, and Draco seemed to pause as if he were running over courses of action to take in his mind. Everyone, Hermione and Penelope especially, was very confused.

Even Malfoy looked a little uncertain of how to proceed, as though he hadn't expected the reaction he himself had had, but that was soon replaced by his typical sneer.

"Just a little disgusted at you two groping one another in the corridor." He replied snidely, and Penelope nodded in agreement, but still looked more than a little bewildered. Hermione snorted.

"And you weren't?" She pointed out, but quickly realised that was the wrong response to have made. Malfoy looked strangely delighted, as if he'd won the game they'd been playing all week by finally getting her to respond. She cursed herself for acting as though she'd been paying attention to Malfoy and Penelope's actions, she didn't want him to think she actually _cared_ or anything.

"I'm not surprised you're such a voyeur Granger," He grinned nastily, and Theo bristled. Hermione was greatly regretting giving him the rise he'd clearly been waiting for. "I suppose watching me is the only way you can actually get turned on, what with Nott here being your only source of excitement."

At this Theo actually looked as though he was about to launch himself at the smarmy blonde man stood before him, he opened his mouth to retort angrily and Hermione could see him reaching for his wand, so she decided to intervene.

She had already figured out that for whatever reason, Malfoy wanted her attention. He wanted to aggravate her and upset her probably just like he had done in school, so she knew now that she had to take her mother's age-old advice and simply not give him the satisfaction.

Hermione turned away from Malfoy, blocking him out of her vision, and placed a hand calmly on Theo's wand. She smiled at him gently as he looked at her in frustration and confusion and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I'll see you later on this evening, I said I'd go for coffee with Ron while I wait to be allowed back into my apartment, and I've got to find a public bathroom to get ready in anyway." She said with a forced chuckle, and Theo's eyes widened slightly in comprehension.

He returned her kiss and grumbled his reply, Hermione guessed that (similar to her other male friends) Theo would have preferred to have settled his and Draco's disagreement in a much livelier manner, but he could also probably tell that what she was doing was working.

As she moved past Malfoy towards the fireplaces she could see out of the corner of her eye that he was practically shaking with rage and allowed herself a small smirk before she grabbed a handful of floo powder.

She relaxed further still when she watched Theo go into the adjacent fireplace first, and after he had left turned back one last time. She couldn't resist getting the last word in.

"See you this evening Draco," She said with a large smile, his molten silver eyes met her golden ones, his fury burning into her like an open flame. "And remember, no plus ones."

He watched her go and tried to calm himself down as she left, breathing heavily in and out as the bright green flames engulfed her small body and then burned out.

"What does she mean? Am I not invited to her birthday party?!" Penelope whined, causing his irritation to flare up once again.

"Will you just shut up Clearwater, I need to think." He hissed, barely registering her huff as she folded her arms across her chest and looked away.

He hadn't meant to get this aggravated, in fact his reaction had taken himself quite by surprise. After noting the effect his and Penelope's new relationship had had on the other budding office romance, Draco had decided that week to amp it up a bit. He'd probably given Penelope the wrong impression by grabbing her at every chance he got and snogging her senseless whenever Hermione was around, but at this point he didn't really care what she was thinking. All he had wanted was to put a spoke in the wheels of Theo and Granger's relationship – the other man had been intolerable recently, constantly talking about what he and his girlfriend were getting up to.

Draco had decided to take action. Theo was getting far too cocky, and besides, he was tired of hearing about how many times the two of them had kissed, or what her arse felt like in one of her tight skirts.

He bristled at the thought and once again felt his anger building. Of course, his plan had now been foiled.

Granger and Theo making up had taken him completely by surprise. He'd anticipated an angry reaction from Hermione at some point in the week due to his snide comments or the amount of times she'd caught him and Penelope in a compromising position. That, he had been hoping, would push Theo over the edge and lead him to realise that Hermione was more focussed on workplace drama and Draco-fucking-Malfoy than she was about her own partner, but instead the pair of them had reconciled right in front of him. And what a fucking reconciliation it had been.

He ran a hand through his hair in desperation, frantically trying to guess why it was this was flustering him so much. It had to be because Granger had barely risen to any of his antics all week, she hadn't given him the fucking satisfaction of seeing her all riled up, chocolate hair tousled, eyes hot and alive with anger. He'd just wanted to _prove_ that he could get her attention as easily as bloody little Theo Nott could – that Theo wasn't the only one around who could pull women.

He turned and kicked the fireplace she had just exited through with a grunt. The thoughts were back yet again, ideas of her undone and staring at him with those intense fucking eyes – _God_ he needed this to stop.

"What is it Draco?" Penelope cooed, and he jolted at her voice having all but forgotten she was still there. "Are you upset I can't come to Granger's party with you? It's not like you would want to go anyway, we could do something else? You haven't taken me out shopping like you said you would…"

It was like a lightbulb had been switched, like an illusion had been shattered and a spoiler given all at one time. He saw Penelope Clearwater in absolute clarity as her plump pouted lips finished whining yet again. She had approached him for his money, well that and probably his good looks. She had pursued him relentlessly for the first few days – even after he'd given a clear indication that he had absolutely no interest in her at all – and now she couldn't seem to understand that he just wasn't attracted to her in any way shape or form.

Maybe he would have felt slightly guiltier for leading her on if she hadn't had such suspect motives for being with him in the first place. He was pretty sure that aside from the money and his looks she _also_ wanted to piss off the golden girl Hermione Granger who everyone seemed to be so interested in – Penelope was using him almost as much as he was using her.

"Fuck off, Penelope." He replied calmly, finally understanding that he didn't have to let the witch down easy as she wasn't as innocent or smitten as he'd initially assumed. He cursed his ego for allowing himself to assume the woman was just a pliable bimbo - he should have realised she wasn't just a silly girl he could use without any ramifications.

"Wh, what?!" She spluttered disbelievingly, and Draco also realised she had probably never been dumped before – too used to getting what she wanted from men and then leaving them herself.

"Don't play coy with me, you knew what this was. Now leave me alone I'm done with it." He snapped. The blonde rolled her eyes, although she still looked a little put out.

"Fine whatever, I'm not stupid I know you were just using me to piss off Granger." She spat back, her feelings clearly hurt but probably just because she hadn't been able to dump him. "Not like I wanted to fuck a death eater twat anyway."

At that he winced, although he supposed he probably deserved it. He had been a death eater and probably still was a twat, he couldn't deny her that one.

Draco Malfoy pondered the events of the last few hours as he watched his fake girlfriend stalk off, her platinum blonde hair shimmering behind her as she went.

"You'll regret this!" She called back to him without turning around. Draco didn't reply as he had a sneaking suspicion she was probably right. Sure Penelope was annoying and conniving, but she was also a beautiful woman who probably would have shagged him, regardless of her harsh words from moments before.

He had never turned down a woman before just because she was annoying. Come to think of it, he had never snogged or dated a woman for that long – even if it was a fake relationship – without _actually_ sealing the deal. He ran a hand over his face and breathed in deeply, trying to understand why it was he had had such reservations about sleeping with the perfectly willing and reportedly very bendy Penelope Clearwater.

It couldn't be because of Hermione Granger.

No matter what he did, his mind kept replaying their kiss all that time ago over and over again, but he'd only encountered these problems since he'd been working with her. Before that he'd barely even thought about the whole mess – that night had just been a dim memory.

He paced in front of the fireplaces as he thought. The ministry was far more silent now and there was no one in the vicinity of the floo points of Magical Law Enforcement giving him the quiet he needed to think.

He hadn't been sleeping well or much at all recently, and it was beginning to affect not only his concentration but apparently the decisions he made if his developing obsession with Harry Potter's lackey was anything to go by.

It had to be because of the close proximity – an attractive woman, one he knew he was enticed by sexually, working with him in such close quarters and yet forbidden?

He nodded his head at this theory, realising he probably looked like a lunatic – which was exactly how he felt.

The problem _had_ to be that simple. He'd never been denied in this way before, certainly not by a witch he'd already kissed. It was unheard of, and to have said witch constantly flouncing about with one of his best friends was damn near tantalising.

He grinned to himself at this ramshackle explanation, taking it as fact and not allowing any more logical thoughts to pollute his ideas. He was running on an adrenaline high after his argument with Granger and then breaking things of with Penelope – this theory seemed like the best thing he'd ever come up with. It was so obvious and at the same time so comforting – he wasn't crazy, he wasn't broken, he was just fucking horny and wanted to show Theodore Nott who was really in control.

He knew then that he needed to act, needed to formulate a plan to get back at the two people who had been bothering him so much recently. Using Penelope had clearly been a non-starter – Hermione was too good and too sensitive to continue acting up if it was going to upset the man she was seeing, and frankly he was beginning to think Theo had seen right through it.

No, he needed a new plan of action. A way to actually prove to both Nott and Hermione that _he_ was the one that she wanted, and that after all was said and done and he'd fucked her a few times, he would just move on with her life. _Then_ maybe if Nott was still interested he could have her.

Moving fast so as not to lose his nerve, Draco Malfoy jetted towards a fireplace, checking his watch as he went. It was nearly seven thirty, and he had overheard from Pansy's constant chatter throughout the week that Hermione's birthday party started at eight o clock. That left him half an hour to get changed and down some liquid courage.

"'See you this evening Draco'?" He grinned to himself, mocking the last thing she'd said to him before vanishing through the same fireplace, not caring at that moment if anyone heard, "That's practically an invitation."

* * *

 **Dun dun duuun! Ok so I hope you enjoyed that! Sorry for the slightly filler chapter, but the next one is REALLY long already haha so I needed to separate this as its own chapter.**

 **As this didn't feature too much of anything I'm thinking of updating quite soon - I'm really excited for the next chapter, Hermione's birthday party!**

 **Like I said these few chapters are quite drama-filled, just while Draco gets some of his angst and exhaustion out of his system, then we will be back to confusion, ministry work and Hermione over thinking everything ;)**

 **Anyway, hope this chapter was alright, see you soon and thanks for reading! Leave me a review if possible, I love them :)**


	10. The Birthday

**Ok so here we are - the birthday! I'm quite excited ;)**

 **I really hope you enjoy this chapter, there's a little bit of Dramione (our first bit!) and a little bit of drama.**

 **There's also a few other things going on I hope you'll pick up on!**

 **Thank you for your reviews and views, I really appreciate knowing people are reading my story!**

 **Anyway, hope you like this :)**

* * *

Hermione had been feeling a lot more nervous about turning 24 before Pansy had basically drowned her in margaritas. Her head had begun to swim after the first three but by the sixth she was positively giggling.

She had changed earlier that day into a tight, short deep blue dress which showed off a lot more skin than she was used to (thankfully Pansy had also supplied her with a jacket so that her modesty was somewhat preserved during the walk from the coffee shop she got changed in to her front door) and heels which were definitely out of her comfort zone.

In fact on the walk over to her apartment Hermione had to be all but dragged by Ron, she was so desperate to just avoid the entire thing.

However, after the initially awkward and unnecessary "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" which had been crowed at her from around forty people crammed into her living room who had clearly been drinking since 6, things had certainly lightened up.

Pansy was already tipsy when Hermione arrived, her justification was that she had been very stressed about hosting, but Hermione felt it had something more to do with the impressive array of cocktails she had seemingly on demand in every corner of the flat.

Ron had kindly offered to escort her in after they'd had their coffee together and was now playing catch up with Harry doing shots of tequila off of her kitchen counter. Hermione winced a little as she saw Ron downing his fifth – that would not end well - Ron wasn't used to muggle alcohol and tequila was most definitely the foulest.

She couldn't help a smile gracing her lips as she watched Ginny trying to teach Theo how to jive to the pop song that was currently blaring – she'd taken a class a few summers back with Harry and was actually surprisingly good at it, for a while she had tried to teach Hermione and Pansy but the pair of them were equipped with two left feet each.

It was only just nearing nine o clock and the evening was definitely in full swing, Hermione thought as she sipped a new cocktail which had been placed in her hand the moment she'd finished the last – there were some perks to being the birthday girl.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, and the brunette winced and laughed as she turned and waved to her best friend who was currently stumbling towards her. As per usual he was quite drunk, Pansy had not slacked off this year it seemed as he had also already cracked one of his lenses.

"Yes, Harry I am right here!" Hermione giggled. She was feeling a little warm and silly herself but was definitely not on Harry Potter's level yet – the man looked as though he might keel over at any second.

"Please don't shag bloody Theo Nott," He stage whispered to her, causing her to wince a little at the smell of alcohol once he leaned in close, "He's a top guy and everything but Hermione, he sleeps with so many women. He just uses them, you wouldn't want to,"

Harry was cut off by the arrival of his wife who quickly stepped in to grab hold of his arm and sling it over her shoulder. Harry slumped against her, but Ginny didn't falter (despite her rather impressive heels), the woman had played professional quidditch for a living and knew how to balance.

"Happy birthday Hermione." Ginny said quietly, avoiding her old friend's gaze as Hermione thoughtfully sipped the pink drink she had now ascertained was a daquiri. Ginny clearly hadn't been drinking, she was clear headed and looked adequately embarrassed. Hermione found herself wondering why she had even come but supposed she hadn't wanted to look too petty as she'd already received her invitation. That and she undoubtedly knew that her husband would need to be carried home later in the evening.

"Thanks." Was Hermione's carefully chosen reply. The harsh words Ginny had shouted at her a few weeks before still stung, and it would take more than an appearance at her birthday party and three words to heal that wound.

Ginny then opened her mouth, her brow furrowed in concentration as if she wanted to say something, but at that moment Pansy Parkinson whirled into their conversation. Hermione realised in that split second that she had two choices – hear Ginny out and dedicate herself to a serious and possibly upsetting or argumentative conversation with a woman she was still annoyed with, or talk to Pansy and see what antics her other best friend had been involved in.

"Pans, what is it?!" Hermione chirped, pretending not to notice the slightly hurt look in Ginny's eyes as the other woman closed her mouth and looked away, focussing instead on her husband. Hermione had a sneaking suspicion she would feel bad about this the following morning – but right now she was birthday Hermione. Birthday Hermione was already quite tipsy, had had a trying week at work and wanted nothing more than to celebrate her only special day in the year. She could do without Ginny Weasley and her judgemental comments.

Pansy looked up at her and grinned, taking a slightly sloppy drink from her own cocktail before hopping up onto one of the barstools at the counter island. She was wearing a violet backless minidress which floated prettily about her frame. Pansy was always complaining that she didn't have the curves Hermione did, (curves which Hermione thought made her look frumpy and mumsy) but she certainly knew how to dress for her slim body. It helped obviously that Pansy Parkinson was also stunningly beautiful.

"I just thought you would want an explanation for why my favourite ginge is here after your little scrap the other week," Pansy began dramatically, swinging her arms about as she spoke and nearly causing Hermione to have an aneurism as she veered dangerously close to a tray of full glasses.

Hermione smiled a little sadly but decided she really didn't need to hear the same explanation again.

"Pansy I know why, you told me at dinner the other night, you'd already sent the invitations and"

Pansy waved a hand in Hermione's face so violently she almost threw her drink across the room.

"No not all of that bollocks, I mean the _real_ reason," She sighed, downing the rest of her martini and lunging across the counter for another one. Hermione wondered if there were any actual bar staff accompanying all these drinks who could cut people off. She had never seen a room full of twenty-somethings act so rowdily. Thank God for cleaning charms, they would definitely be needing a massive clear up tomorrow. "I miss us three together. I miss me you and her shooting the shit, hanging out. I just miss what it used to be like."

Hermione was shocked – it was very unlike Pansy to reveal her feelings, even when absolutely plastered – but she also felt a little guilty. She hadn't once thought about how her and Ginny's argument had been affecting Pansy, who was obviously inextricably linked to the whole thing.

"I'm so sorry Pans, I miss it too," She began slowly, thinking of the best way to explain her own feelings on the matter. "But Ginny needs to apologise to me. I can't understand the way she reacted, it was unfair."

"Ginny has a whole lot of her own shit going on that's making things difficult at the moment," Pansy interjected. "Plus, there's things I need to talk with just Ginny about too, I can hardly do that anymore seeing as I'm your flatmate - girl code 'n that."

Hermione flushed at the comment. There was once a time, not so long ago, when she knew everything of interest that was going on in her best friend's lives. She suddenly felt hopelessly in the dark – Ginny had problems? Pansy had secrets that were only meant for Weasley ears?!

"What do you mean going on with Ginny?" She spluttered, "Her and Harry seem fine, and what's going on with you, you can tell me anything?!"

Pansy shook her head and leaned so far back on her stool it looked like she would fall right off.

"Ginny is more than one half of a marriage Hermione, you know that." Pansy pointed out, and once again Hermione felt ashamed and out-matured by Pansy Parkinson – of all people. "And there are some things Ginny and I need to discuss, I can't explain to you right now."

Before Hermione could prod any further, Pansy was up and gone as quickly as she had come. Her long black hair flowing behind her in the prettily curled ringlets she had been talking about doing since Wednesday.

Hermione suddenly felt quite lost. A moment ago, sure she'd been a little irritated with Ginny but apart from that her life had been pretty good. She loved both of her boys despite their distance recently, Pansy and she were as close as they'd ever been, and she even had a budding romance in the works. Now she didn't know where she stood with her best friend, she was realising she hadn't spent time with Harry in forever and she didn't even know what Theo and she actually _were_.

She chugged down the rest of her drink and picked up two more, wondering if a few minutes snogging Theo would cheer her up sufficiently - the last thing she wanted was to drunk-cry on her birthday, that would just be tragic.

Just as she was about to make her move and try and find her man however, she was obstructed by a gaggle of women she hadn't seen since starting her new job.

"Hermione! Oh my God happy birthday babe!" Lavender Brown screeched, pulling her into an awkward hug as they both had their hands full with drinks. She was flanked by Parvati Patil, looking gorgeous as ever in a cherry red dress, and Hannah Abbot who was smiling shyly at Hermione under her blonde fringe.

"Hey Lavender it's so good to see you." Hermione smiled back, realising that she needed to ingest some more alcohol as she was now about to be treated to every single detail of Lavender's engagement and her new beau.

Hermione had loved expanding her circle of friends after school, and had found the company of women invaluable, especially when she and Ron had broken up. But there was really only so much of Lavender Brown she (or anyone else as Pansy often pointed out) could take. The woman seemed to be on a constant adrenaline high mixed with a sugar rush, she was always babbling or shrieking about something or other, on a Monday morning it was a lot to deal with. For that reason Hermione was actually quite glad she didn't see her around the ministry anymore.

She found after around twenty minutes of gossiping with her wider group of female friends however, that she had actually missed the contact. Sure, they were a little much on a daily basis (except Hannah who was quiet and positively charming), but their fascinating rumours and exaggerated work stories soon had Hermione crying with laughter – although part of it was probably down to the drinks.

By half past ten Hermione wasn't paying much attention to anything but the bright blue liquid now in her hand. It had become increasingly difficult to get the straw into her mouth, and so that was what she was currently focusing on intently. She didn't even notice the hush that washed over the room as her front door opened yet again, or the tide of whispers which spread through the many guests at her party.

She was only alerted to the new, slightly ominous presence in the room by Pansy crashing into her for the third time that hour, this time managing to spill half a glass of sticky orange liquid over Hermione's dress. It seemed that every time Hermione saw her best friend she was in an even worse state - although the same could probably be said for herself.

"You know I told you I had my reasons for inviting Weasley?" Pansy spluttered, her glazed over eyes now more alert and anxious as they twitched between a still clueless Hermione and the front door of their apartment.

Hermione was still dabbing at her dress in irritation, but looked up and followed Pansy's gaze, her jaw dropping open at the sight of who had just stumbled into her 24th birthday party.

"Well I don't have any explanation for _that_ one."

* * *

Draco Malfoy was running a little later than fashionably late by his reckoning, he had gotten distracted by the bottle of rather delicious whiskey Mopsy had left for him in his dining room – almost as if the elf had known his important plans later that evening.

He'd very nearly gotten himself arrested stumbling through the streets of muggle London as he made his way towards Hermione's flat which was opposite a quiet and luscious park in a quite respectable area of the city. Turned out public drunkenness was something muggles took quite seriously – an interesting concept considering the amount of delicious alcohol they manufactured.

"Who knew Granger had such good taste?" He mumbled out loud to himself once he'd arrived at her street, raising his wand not so inconspicuously under his cloak and managing to move it in the correct complex motion which allowed the magical apartment to be accessed from the outside.

Using the floo had occurred to him, but he'd avoided it for two reasons; firstly, he hadn't wanted to fall out of the fireplace and make even more of a scene than he was inevitably about to. And secondly, he'd tipped all of his floo powder over the living room carpet while stumbling about trying to get his shoes on.

Once the narrow stone staircase had flickered into appearance, filling a previously empty alleyway, Draco Malfoy set about making his way up and into Hermione Granger's apartment. He'd gotten the address from the ministry employee database (available to anyone of his status after a quick owl), and after the floo powder incident had been forced to take the knight bus (how embarrassing) and walk a few blocks to get there.

He finished off the last of the alcohol in the bottle of whiskey he'd brought with him from home and discarded it unceremoniously by Hermione's front door, running a hand through his tousled hair for good measure before flinging open the front door.

He didn't bother with knocking, which he quickly realised was a good decision considering how loud it was inside. He blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark and nodded in approval. It being Hermione Granger he'd half expected to walk in on her and Potter playing wizard chess, but what greeted him could not be further from a quiet night in.

Someone had definitely vomited in the potted plant next to the door, the open plan living area was crowded with people dancing raucously to the loud music and everywhere he looked there were drinks or empty glasses. Draco stepped into the apartment, shutting the door behind him but had to launch himself back against it as Parvati Patil sped past him wearing nothing but her underwear.

"Interesting." He mused, grabbing one of the full glasses and deciding to add to his already inebriated state.

"No fucking way." A voice hissed close to him barely a minute after he'd stepped into the room, and the rational side of him (despite being almost completely drowned in alcohol) realised that maybe appearing at this event had not been such a brilliant decision.

He turned quickly and met the pale blue eyes of Lavender Brown, who was already grabbing hold of one of the other women near her and turning her attention towards the newcomer. In a matter of seconds, it seemed that all eyes were on him.

Draco Malfoy did all he could think to do in that moment, which was take another sip from the cocktail he had picked up and look as un-bothered as was humanly possible. He was actually struggling to remember why it was he had come tonight, let alone why he hadn't informed anyone of his decision. He really needed to get some sleep.

"Draco!?" A familiar voice chirped, and he turned with a sigh of relief to face Daphne Greengrass. The oldest Greengrass was stood with her sister, and both looked stunning in soft pink and green respectively.

"Daphne! And dear Astoria, away from the children I see?" He replied a little too loudly with a genuine smile. He felt surprisingly uncomfortable being the centre of attention, especially seeing as his motives for actually appearing that night were still shrouded in an alcohol and sleep deprived haze.

He leaned in and hugged each woman in turn, causing both of them to look at him in surprise.

"Well if you don't mind my asking," The brunette witch said with an awkward smile in return, " _What_ are you doing here?"

Draco felt slightly annoyed that they apparently didn't deal in niceties any longer. One week with Granger and it was bull in a China shop, straight to the point just like that ridiculous woman.

A thought popped into his head, and his reasons for essentially gate crashing Hermione Granger's 24th birthday became shockingly clear. After their fight earlier that day he'd broken up with Penelope and then decided on a whim to pursue the object of his insatiable desire – Hermione Granger herself.

He remembered how unattractive he'd found Penelope, and how after his tantalising argument with the auburn-haired birthday girl he'd quickly assumed that the reason for his confusing feelings and lack of sexual desire for a woman who had basically thrown himself at him was because of the untouchable woman right before him. He always wanted what he couldn't have.

Daphne was still looking up at him in polite confusion, nervously twiddling a silky straight strand of her chocolate bob as she waited for his response. Draco made another heat of the moment decision, and grabbed hold of his friend's hand, pulling her to one side.

He waved Astoria away, who rolled her eyes but obeyed and went off to find her husband, clearly not that interested in Draco's appearance at his nemesis' birthday party.

"What I'm about to tell you is of the utmost confidentiality," Draco began, becoming slightly irritated when he realised his words were slurring a little. "I can't trust Pansy with this, but I need a woman's opinion."

Daphne now looked outright concerned, and also a little irritated herself.

"While I can't say I'm not intrigued, I have to warn you that I also don't make any promises of secrecy. You have hardly been a friend recently Draco, and if you somehow intend to ruin Hermione's birthday I will not allow it." She resolutely folded her arms over her chest and glared up at him defiantly.

"Of _course_ you won't," Draco muttered bitterly, running a hand through his hair as he thought about whether or not to let her in on his cockamamie plan. On the one hand, she would probably stop him. But on the other, maybe that was the exact subconscious reason he had decided to have this conversation. He hastily decided that womanly advice was worth the risk of humiliation. "I'm going to tell you anyway."

And so he told her all of it. How since starting their new position he'd been strangely fascinated (and simultaneously irritated, he stressed to the extreme) by Hermione Granger. He mentioned the kiss a few years ago, trying to brush over the event which Daphne no doubt already knew about (damn Theo Nott and his gossiping tongue to hell), instead deciding to focus on how lust but at the same time lack of desire for any other woman was ruling his mind at the moment.

He pointed out that he rarely didn't get what he wanted, adding a smirk for good measure which caused Daphne to blush as he alluded to a drunken night the two of them had shared a few years ago, and that it was logical to assume not being allowed something – especially something which Theo Nott had – was driving him mad.

Then he got onto his plan for that evening. How he'd ended things with Penelope and intended to finish what he and Hermione had started nearly three years ago, the event which had left him virtually castrated for the last month.

He stumbled over his words a few times, and the alcohol caused him to go a little off topic more than once, but through his rambling Daphne's attention never wavered, and once he'd finished she herself had come to a decision.

"Ok." She said curtly after he had finished talking and she had taken a long sip from her drink. Draco Malfoy waited for the inevitable tide of curses, of insults and accusations, but none came.

"Is that it?!" He asked incredulously, and Daphne shrugged.

"I have my reservations, I mean how could I not I love Theo, but I could also already tell you were hell bent on doing something from the moment you walked in, so ok. You've convinced me and I see no point in trying to stop you."

Draco's jaw dropped, he was so preoccupied he barely noticed Pansy Parkinson falling into some bloke's lap on the sofa a few feet away from them.

"So you agree? You think if I seal the deal, or at least if I just kiss her again to see if it's actually _her_ that I want, I'll be back to normal?" He asked earnestly, and at this Daphne raised her hand to her lips to hide a slight smirk.

Men could be so idiotic.

"In a way I suppose. But I have to say if you sleep with her I shall be at the same time very impressed and very disappointed." She quipped, changing the subject only slightly. He looked at her in confusion until she clarified. "Getting Hermione Granger to sleep with you when she doesn't even remember the two of you kissed? Incredible. Sleeping with the girl your best friend is currently dating? Despicable."

At this Draco shrugged, nodded and then took the drink from Daphne's hand, finishing it off in one.

"Two rather good ways of describing me, don't you think?"

* * *

"Why on earth is he here?!" Hermione practically screeched as Lavender Brown filled her in on the gossip. Pansy had disappeared once again just a few moments before, and so a rather drunk Hermione was taking her frustration out on those left around her.

"I have no clue, I tried to listen in on his conversation with Daphne Greengrass, but the music was so loud I couldn't hear anything." Lavender replied with a pitying pout, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder in an attempt to calm the witch down.

Hermione actually did relax a little, but more due to Lavender's words than her half-arsed attempts to comfort her friend.

"Daphne spoke to him, ok. She wouldn't let him stay if he were about to do something ridiculous." She said, more to herself than anyone else as she kept her eyes trained on the blonde on the other side of her living room. Lavender quickly grew tired of their conversation and set about trying to find someone else to gossip with.

Draco Malfoy had actually looked a little uncomfortable when he'd first walked in, but he had now settled and was laughing about something or other with Luna Lovegood. Hermione wasn't even that surprised by the unusual pairing, Luna could talk to anyone and it seemed _she_ was the only person Malfoy still had a problem with since leaving school.

She had been stood on her own for just a few moments before Theo appeared at her side. His eyes were dark, and his cheeks looked flushed – Hermione, despite her alcohol addled mind, could guess that he too had spotted the newcomer.

"Do you want me to ask him to leave?" He asked, his voice barely containing the anger he so clearly felt. Hermione suddenly felt quite upset that this was how Theo reacted to one of his oldest friends walking into a room now. She knew she had to do something to make things easier between them.

"No it's ok, this actually might be a good time to talk to him about everything that's gone on recently. He's not doing anything wrong and he didn't bring that little twit of a girlfriend with him, those are good signs." She said calmly, with a brave smile, intent on covering up the fact that the appearance of Draco Malfoy at her birthday party was making her really quite anxious.

Theo did not reply straight away, and for a moment Hermione worried she had done something wrong. He was looking at her a little strangely, as though there was something he thought she ought to know but he couldn't tell her.

"Are you sure about that?" He eventually asked carefully, and once again Hermione was truly perplexed.

She had been sure that the reason their relationship had been so rocky starting out was her terrible attitude towards Malfoy – one of Theo's best friends. He had clearly hated when the two of them had argued or tried to bait one another, but now that she was working towards solving that problem he just seemed unsure. Tense even.

"Yes, I think I just need to set some things straight," Hermione pushed, it may have been all the cocktails, but she was certain this was a good idea. "We need to learn to be civil with one another, it's only fair to you."

Again Theo's reaction was not what she was hoping to get, but he did at least nod in acceptance of her idea, even though he looked a little uncertain.

"Alright. Just don't let him get into your head." He replied cryptically, before vanishing back into the crowd.

Hermione was left feeling exasperated and confused. She had thought that this would be the sort of thing Theo wanted – he had made such a big deal about her problems with all of his other friends, and now she was trying to fix things with the most troublesome one he just seemed wary. As though she couldn't be trusted.

With a sigh she downed her drink and set the empty glass down on the table, feeling quite wobbly as she started to move across the room. She had made her decision, and her eyes narrowed as she made a beeline for the man who had crashed her 24th birthday party.

Seemingly at the same moment, Draco Malfoy too had resolved to finish the business he had started accidentally three years before. He put down his own glass and turned around to scan the room for his target, only to find that the petite witch was already heading towards him.

He met her eyes and nodded, to which she pointed a finger towards her bedroom door in response, deciding this conversation would not be the centre of attention at her own birthday party. She didn't need the embarrassment.

Hermione slipped inside first, hoping that Draco Malfoy of all people was sneaky enough to wait a little while before following so that they didn't attract anyone's attention.

It was dim in her bedroom, with only her lamp on in the corner and the main light switched off. She absentmindedly looked out of the window and over the still bustling city of London feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. That was when he opened her bedroom door.

"I wanted to talk to you about your behaviour towards me these past few weeks." Hermione began curtly, not wanting to let him get a snide comment in and cause her to lose her cool. She was quite impressed at how well her speech was holding up considering the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, but supposed it probably sounded better in her own head than in reality.

"Why do I feel like I've just walked into a meeting with professor McGonagall?" He replied with a grin, and Hermione was taken aback for more than a few seconds at his far from malicious and almost teasing response.

It was like an otherworldly experience, seeing Draco Malfoy smile. She realised when he did that he had lines around his eyes and mouth from years of mirth she had clearly never been around to witness. It made him look more human, less like the emotionless porcelain doll he so often appeared to be. Before she could study him further the mask had been reapplied and his smile had vanished.

"Well, I wanted to get straight to the point." Hermione mumbled awkwardly as he sat down a few inches from her on the bed. It was strange being in such close proximity to a man she'd steadily avoided for so many years.

"Yes that does sound like you." Draco mused, and Hermione realised with another bout of surprise that he was quite drunk. His eyes were drooping lazily and his mouth kept slipping into that infuriatingly endearing smile. It was strange to see him so unguarded. "Well go right ahead then, let me have it."

Hermione nodded slowly, still a little unsure of how to proceed given how cordial he was being. She had planned how this conversation would go in her mind endlessly over the last week, although admittedly in her mind they weren't both drunk in her bedroom with the lights off. Whenever she pictured it Draco inevitably said something rude and catty to her which set her off, she'd dramatically tell him what for, shocking him into silence and leading him to mumble an apology once she'd ended her tirade. This was far from that image.

"I suppose I'm angry." She began slowly, and felt her emotions creeping into her voice as she thought over all of the shit he had pulled since they had begun working together. "I didn't expect you to be so… unchanged."

At this he flinched, but Hermione barely noticed, so intent on carrying on with her planned speech.

"It's almost exactly like how it was in school, you just deliberately trying to push my buttons and upset me. I guess I had thought you would be better than that, more mature even."

"It's not because of your blood status. I'm not an idiot." Draco blurted out and Hermione turned to face him for the first time. He seemed almost earnest as he said those words, but she couldn't imagine why he wanted her to know that. "You just… _infuriate_ me."

Now it was Hermione's turn to laugh. She found her self in a fit of the giggles (definitely brought on by bottomless daquiris) while he stared at her, completely perplexed.

"Sorry I just," She spluttered, hiccupping a little through her words, "I was thinking the exact same thing about you."

Her outburst seemed to have sobered him up somewhat, as he was now looking at her with the same carefully neutral expression he usually did. As though he could never reveal what he was thinking.

"It was that fucking party at Weasley's, it just did something to my head I think." He said softly, stroking his chin in thought as he stared out of Hermione Granger's bedroom window. "I'm not used to not getting what I want. Or not having something that one of my friends possesses."

He almost growled the last part, but Hermione if anything was even more confused than she had been before.

"What are you talking about, Weasley party? I assume you're not referring to brunch the other week?" She struggled to remember anything significant (apart from her and Ginny's embarrassing and very public row) which had happened that Sunday. She was quite certain nothing of any interest had occurred involving Draco Malfoy.

At this he turned back to face her, and she found his expression completely unreadable. He looked slightly amused, but at the same time almost a little hurt.

"You really don't remember." He said, and his voice was so soft Hermione was all but certain she was speaking to someone who had taken Polyjuice to look like him.

There was no way the Draco Malfoy she knew, the one who had bullied her for six years and stood by and done nothing while she'd been tortured in his own home couldn't sound so gentle, so human. She was completely disarmed by this new version of him – this vulnerable and honest man who had smiled at her when he'd entered the room.

The next few seconds, as Hermione would remember time and time again the years following that fateful night, seemed to last for an eternity.

It was in slow motion she watched Draco Malfoy bring his hand up to stroke her cheek. It took the longest possible time for Draco Malfoy to close his eyes and tilt his calm and beautiful face as he leant in towards her. There were a million thoughts rushing through Hermione's mind in the second it took for her to close the gap between them and allow him to envelope her lips.

 _This is the most peaceful he has ever looked._

 _What can't I remember about a Weasley party?_

 _Why have I never noticed the single, tiny freckle underneath his left eye?_

But they were all drowned out in the crescendo that was the best kiss Hermione Granger had ever had in her 24 years of living.

As he softly stroked the back of her hair and slid his other hand along her bare thigh Hermione moaned quietly into his mouth. The tension between them was being released and he gripped her closer almost in desperation, sliding his tongue artfully into her mouth. Tenderness became raw need, and Hermione was taken aback at the ferocity with which he embraced her.

It was explosive, it was pure passion, it was fireworks and hand grenades and adrenaline all at once. It was also familiar.

Hermione's eyes flew open as time began to speed up once again, and the memory she had completely forgotten of New Years Eve nearly three years before crashed into her brain like a sledgehammer.

The second hit came when the door flew open and the two of them were bathed in the harsh bright light of the hallway.

"Hermione?!"

* * *

 **Dun dun DUUN! Oh no! Who caught them in the act?!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this bit of drama fuelled by sleep deprived Draco and some alcohol - there were also a few little hints of other things going on in this chapter which I wonder if anyone picked up on - please let me know!**

 **Tell me what you thought of this chapter, did you enjoy the kiss? What's coming next?**

 **Thanks for reading guys, see you soon!**


	11. The Kiss

**Hello guys! Sorry for the delay, has been a very hectic week! We had snow in the UK for the first time in 5 years where I am, it was very exciting ;)**

 **So fair warning before you start this chapter: it is not what you've been waiting for! Sorry! But this was too perfect a time to slot this flashback in**

 **I will be updating quite soon with the resolution from last week don't you worry, but as I said this needed to be done at some point, and what better time than as Hermione's remembering it!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter anyway, and thank you for the reviews I love reading every one :)**

* * *

December 31st, 2000

Hermione bit into the candy cane ferociously, attempting to release her aggression on the innocent sugary treat.

"You are really going to town on that thing," Pansy commented drily from her side. Her best friend was assuming her usual start-of-the-party position – next to the alcohol. "Imagining it's Ron's penis?"

At this Ginny snorted and her eyes flickered over to where the object of Hermione's frustration was sat moodily chugging his eggnog. They were making quite the pair that evening - stood as far away from each other as was possible in the Burrow, both looking miserable and frustrated.

"I love my brother Hermione don't get me wrong, but this situation is too dire to go on. What did he do this time?"

Hermione sighed and twiddled with a strand of her silky straight hair. It had taken almost 2 hours to eliminate every curl, something which Ron had obviously failed to notice. Not only had he neglected to compliment her on her sleek, shiny hair, but he had also made them nearly an hour late to his family's annual New Years Eve party. The only consolation was that neither of the Weasley parents were there and so Hermione had not felt too embarrassed for showing up so late.

The Weasley New Years Eve party had been a tradition so far for each year following the end of the war. Molly and Arthur would get a much-needed date night out and see a late showing of a film at a muggle cinema (Arthur's activity choice no doubt) and their children were given permission to throw a party.

It always started out with the best intentions – George and Bill would plan a small, intimate gathering of just their closest friends and family to ring in the New Year together. Every year without fail the guestlist at least tripled, in fact Hermione was pretty sure she'd seen one of the Greengrasses at last year's do, of all people.

"The usual. I nag too much, I'm a bore, I won't pay him any attention unless its to correct him or tell him off." She reeled off, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice as she explained what the pair of them had been arguing about that evening.

It had started when Hermione had walked into Ron's living room, dressed and ready to go after a whole afternoon of prep to find her boyfriend asleep in his pyjamas on the sofa. She had gotten stressed and told him off for not being ready for the time they had agreed to almost a week ago, and he had obviously hated being told what to do. Most of their arguments were along the same lines and were never really resolved. They would end in an awkward half-reconciliation and Ron would normally buy her roses the next day. God she hated those sickly sweet smelling empty gestures.

Things had been wrong between her and Ron for a long time now, almost every conversation they ever had ended in a spat about something or other.

It didn't help that with Ginny and Harry's plans to move in with one another at some point in the New Year extra pressure was being put on the two of them to make a deeper commitment.

Hermione was almost certain that Ron was as reluctant as she was to change things from the way they were currently, but all Molly Weasley could see was a ticking clock on Hermione's uterus and a brood of red-headed book worms in the near future. It was almost suffocating.

While Ginny was sympathetic to her mother's constant hints and jokes about marriage and babies when it came to Hermione and Ron, who had "been together for so long that in my day there would have already been two children running around!", it was obviously quite hard for her to understand Hermione's position.

Both of them had sort of fallen into relationships with the two men closest to them throughout school. For Ginny it had worked an absolute treat, Harry was her dream man and he treated her like a goddess. Hermione knew that it was difficult for Ginny to see what had gone wrong in the case of her brother and Hermione, who were supposedly also a match made in heaven.

"And the sex is still terrible?" Pansy interjected, causing Ginny to wrinkle her nose in distaste.

"That is my _brother_ we're talking about right now ladies so try to keep it PG?"

Hermione managed a small chuckle, but it died on her throat as she watched Ron mutter something irritably to George causing the other man to conspicuously glance her way, no doubt they were talking about her and their relationship. She took a long swig from her glass of too-strong punch, barely wincing when it burned her throat. She was going to need all the liquid courage she could get to make it through the evening.

"I don't understand why you don't just end things with him." Pansy said coolly, her eyes had narrowed and Hermione realised she too had noticed Ron's bitchy behaviour.

"Because of what he just did really," Hermione said a little sadly, "I couldn't cope with the Weasley's being turned against me. The Burrow is like a second home to me."

At this Ginny wrapped an arm around her oldest friend and squeezed her comfortingly.

"You know that won't ever happen, right? I mean sure mum will be quite put out but she'll get over it. She's got three other kids in a prime baby-making position at the moment."

Hermione grinned at that, also glad for an opportunity to change the subject.

"I'm so glad George and Angelina are still going strong, they make such a lovely couple." She commented on the surprise coupling of the third youngest Weasley brother as Ron stood up and brushed past them.

"Yeah I suppose it makes all the difference when your girlfriend isn't also your mum." Ron quipped nastily as he strolled by, causing Hermione to blush and look away as tears stung at her eyes.

This was his classic move whenever they got into one of their arguments. He'd mope around like a wounded animal and then needily paw at her for attention once he got bored. She was tired of it.

"What the fuck was that?!" Ginny practically shouted, causing a few other party goers to look over in their direction curiously. "Do you want me to hex him? I haven't fired off a bat bogey in too long."

"No." Said Hermione quietly, and at the same time Pansy cried out;

"Yes!"

She stared at the ground as her two best friends discussed how best to catch her boyfriend unawares and jinx him within an inch of his life (Pansy was definitely being serious, Ginny most likely not).

Their expiration date was fast approaching and Hermione knew it. She took another sip from her drink thoughtfully as she went over her options.

None of them were particularly favourable, but it was obvious to her that the two of them couldn't continue as they were for much longer, if they did they risked permanently damaging their friendship.

It's time. She thought resolutely, finishing the drink in her hand and going straight for the punch bowl for a refill.

She would break up with Ron after the party.

By around half past 11 Hermione was struggling to not break up with Ronald Weasley right then and there in front of all of his friends. Once the night had kicked up a notch and more and more people had arrived with more and more drinks, Ron had switched his tack from avoiding her and shooting her dirty looks to not leaving her side.

She knew this move, it was his way of attempting to get back into her good graces and return things to normal without actually having to apologise.

Pansy had quite swiftly gotten tired of Ron's constant presence and had left the couple to it a little while ago. Hermione was pretty sure she'd seen her laughing with Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini who for some reason or another were taking the Burrow by storm. They had probably bee invited by Ginny who had a tendency to talk to _anyone_ on the Quidditch pitch.

She sipped her drink lazily, feeling quite loose and warm from the punch although her mood if anything had worsened with the alcohol. It was making her even more impatient with regards to her boyfriend, she just wanted him to leave her alone or better yet, apologise for his earlier behaviour, but she had a feeling he would not let up or do as she wanted.

"You excited to be my New Year's kiss for the third year running?" He whispered, his voice hot and sticky in her ear, and Hermione had to stop herself from flinching away. She looked about her for an escape route but saw that most other people (including her lifeline Ginny Weasley) were already coupled up and dancing to the slow music, Pansy was, as expected now that the song had turned romantic, nowhere to be seen.

Hermione said nothing but forced an awkward smile. She stood up from the sofa they were currently sat on and was about to make an excuse and head for the toilet when she almost fell straight back down again.

 _I have had a lot more to drink than I thought._

Hermione realised, and had to hold back a giggle as it occurred to her that she was drunk. She didn't usually drink very much, and this was an unusual experience for her, what was left of her rationality quietly hoped she wouldn't do anything she'd later regret.

"Hermione? Where are you going it's midnight soon?" Ron asked, sounding strangely nervous as he looked up at her in confusion.

Hermione mumbled something about going to find Pansy but was stopped by Ron clumsily placing a finger to her lips and ordering her to hush.

"I have something I want to ask you." He began slowly, a wide smile stretching across his lips as he fumbled around in his jacket pocket. "I wanted to do this before we got here but, well. You know."

Hermione felt as though she could hear her heart pounding in her chest as Ron Weasley began to lower himself off of the sofa they had been sat on together. He couldn't be about to do this, he couldn't possibly think things were going well between them, could he?

"Hermione Jean Granger," Ron began grandly, and Hermione's jaw dropped as a few people began to look over in their direction. This couldn't be happening. "I have loved you for a really long time, and I just think we should keep moving forward with this,"

Hermione grimly realised that he was being absolutely serious. She should have guessed that the influence of Molly Weasley and the perfect couple of Ginny and Harry hanging over his head would have led him to do something utterly foolish like this. Ron was nothing if not a mummy's boy, he would do anything to please his mother, and he was also notoriously competitive with his other siblings - the threat of Harry and Ginny's impending engagement which would undoubedtly steal his mum's attention was looming too large.

He was actually going to ask her, and for a set of completely ridiculous reasons unrelated to their relationship.

Hermione didn't think any more for the next few seconds, she just acted. Later she would look back on that moment as the single most embarrassing and difficult thing she had ever done – but she also knew that Ron would later thank her for stopping them from ruining both of their lives.

"Ron, stop." She practically shouted, and that _did_ catch everyone's attention. She tried to ignore the multiple sets of eyes on them at that moment, but caught Ginny's whispered 'shit balls' even over the loud music.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron hissed, looking confused and hurt. Hermione felt her heart break a considerable amount, but she couldn't stop herself from blurting it all out. She had to do this now, they were probably already too far gone if he thought it was appropriate to propose to her in a room full of people hours after they'd had a huge fight, but she had to stop the runaway train before it crashed.

"I know you think this is what you have to do, but we can't. I can't." She said softly, tears filling her eyes as her former best friends did also. "It hasn't been right for a while, maybe ever. And I just don't enjoy the sex."

Hermione winced at that last comment, she definitely hadn't mean to say that out loud. She really needed to stop talking and drink some water, maybe even just go home and to bed.

Pansy snorted, and a few people broke the awkward silence by tittering, Ron just looked shell shocked.

"I can't believe this, why wouldn't you tell me?" He asked, his voice rising as he came to his senses and felt the anger building up inside him. He got up awkwardly from his position on one knee before her, folding his arms defensively as Hermione backed away.

"I, I thought you knew. We argue all the time, we never agree on anything," Hermione replied, smothering a hiccup mixed with a sob behind her hand as she avoided her now ex-boyfriend's gaze. "We're not meant to be together Ron, I can't possibly marry you."

He looked as though she had just shot him in the chest, and Hermione supposed that that was probably what he was currently feeling. She knew deep down that Ron understood what she was saying, that he too would later realise that he had been about to make a terrible mistake. But at that moment he was looking at her as though she had ruined his life.

Hermione was still backing away, where to she wasn't quite sure, when her side collided with the Weasley's china cabinet and a dinner plate fell from the highest shelf, shattering to pieces on the ground beside her.

The noise seemed to wake everyone up from their reverie and the other party goers began muttering amongst themselves, all eyes still on her and a devastated Ron Weasley.

Hermione choked out a sob and did the only thing she could think of in that moment, she fled. Running up the stairs to god knows where, as long as it was far away from the scene she had just created.

Draco Malfoy let out a whistle as the small brunette fled the party, sobbing as she ran upstairs.

"What the fuck did we just walk in on?!" Daphne spluttered from Draco's left side, and he couldn't help but grin.

"Possibly the greatest free entertainment since Pansy decided to do that strip tease for her 19th."

At this his ex-girlfriend groaned and slapped him on the arm, clearly not enjoying the memory as much as he was.

"You _always_ bring that up and it drives me insane. At least I was wearing nipple pasties." She muttered irritably, her eyes still fixed on the spot Hermione had just vacated.

"Yeah and not much else." Blaise chirped, joining the group with a fresh glass of mead in his hand. "I can't believe we got to witness that though, I mean the poor bloke was literally down on one knee."

Draco snorted and shot Blaise a derisive glare.

"Since when did we care about Weasley and his problems? It was just a good show I would say."

"Since we played quidditch with him and his sister and realised they're not actually that bad." Theo pointed out, appearing as usual at the worst possible moment with a comment proving Draco wrong. Standard Nott. "Can't say the same for his girlfriend though, she's never bothered to speak to any of us."

"Yeah well, can you blame her?" Draco mumbled darkly, feeling the usual creeping cloud of shame and regret as he thought about the war and his quite significant role in it.

Seeing Hermione Granger and to a lesser extent her annoying friends was a mixed bag for him. On the one hand, when she inevitably embarrassed herself in a public and foolish manner like she had just moments ago, he was there to witness it. On the other he could barely look at the woman without remembering what his flesh and blood had done to her during the war.

Some memories were hard to evade, and Hermione's piercing screams as she lay on the floor of his drawing room was one of them.

"What was that?" Daphne piped up with a small smile which faded when Draco shot her a withering look in response.

Draco was beginning to hate how perceptive and bloody persistent each of his friends were. First it was Pansy forcing him out of isolation and back to society, now Theo and Daphne were trying reform him or something and get him to make amends with the people he'd hated since he was eleven. Not that they would ever succeed.

"You going to be my kiss this year Daph?" He changed the subject with a wink, causing the petite brunette witch to flush a delicate shade of pink. One hazy evening not too long ago he and Daphne had taken comfort in each other, and while they both knew it had meant nothing, Draco was enjoying holding it over her head whenever she got a little too nosy.

"You wish." Was her bitter reply, causing Theo to narrow his eyes and look at the two of them curiously. Daphne quickly decided to draw his attention elsewhere, offering to fetch him another drink so that he wouldn't ask any questions.

Draco smirked to himself as he sipped his own – there was no use trying to hide anything from Theo, he had a knack for uncovering whatever it was he wanted to know.

"Still can't believe it was Granger who dumped him, I mean I thought Weasley would get bored of her someday or another." Blaise commented thoughtfully, and Draco couldn't help but snort.

"Weasley could never do any better than Granger, she's not actually that bad looking." He responded, immediately regretting the words once they were out of his mouth. Blaise was giving him a funny look, and he hastily decided to backpedal. "Although I suppose with a personality as grating as hers I can see where you're coming from."

Blaise nodded slowly but still didn't look completely satisfied with his response. Draco groaned inwardly and resolved to just never speak about the Granger girl in front of his friends again – they seemed to want to assume he was interested in her because he had tormented her for so many years. His reason behind that wasn't suspect at all – he simply disliked the witch.

It was with this thought in mind that Draco made his excuses and began to move towards the staircase. It had been a while since he'd seen Hermione Granger – and while he had to admit she'd looked rather delectable in the short red velvet dress she'd been sporting, his only motivation for seeking her out was to torment her some more.

 _Just like the old days_ , Draco Malfoy thought to himself as he downed the rest of his drink and quietly climbed the stairs, listening out for the witch he sought who was undoubtedly crying in a bedroom somewhere.

He couldn't wait to rile her up even more.

It was ten to midnight and for the first time in several years on the 31st of January Hermione Granger was alone.

She had to admit the last few New Years Eves had been rather disappointing, Ron would inevitably be semi-conscious by midnight and kissing him had felt more like putting her lips onto a wet fish, but at least she hadn't been by herself.

She choked out another sob as she stared out of Ginny's bedroom window mournfully, feeling more than a little sorry for herself. Hermione knew she had made the right decision – she hadn't wanted the relationship to drag out any longer and make things awkward between her and Ron in the future. Although she supposed the way she had handled things would make things quite uncomfortable for the time being.

"What have I done?!" She moaned into her hands, replaying the clumsy way she had handled herself over and over in her head which was still swimming with alcohol.

"I was wondering that myself, actually."

Hermione leapt up from where she had been sat on the bed and immediately toppled back down. She made a mental note to avoid eggnog mixed with punch at the next party she attended. She closed her eyes in a mixture of confusion and dismay as the person who had just interrupted her pity party started to laugh.

"Wow Granger, I didn't take you for a light weight." Draco Malfoy grinned, closing the door behind him as he advanced on her curled up form on the bed.

Hermione held back another sob as the person she least wanted to see in the entire world – well, possibly second to Ron – entered the room, no doubt to torture her.

"Just go away." She mumbled in response, pulling her legs up into the foetal position as she wiped her tears away on the back of her hand. She knew she must look terribly pathetic, but she didn't much care. All she wanted was for him to leave her to cry in peace.

"I must say that was quite a display downstairs – I think my favourite moment was when you talked about your below average sex life." Although it was dark, Hermione could practically hear the smirk undoubtedly on his lips as he spoke.

She slowly pulled herself back up into a sitting position, carefully this time to avoid leaving her head swimming once again.

"I wasn't aware I would have such an audience when I finished with him." She retorted, sniffling a little as she spoke.

Draco Malfoy was a little taken aback – it was indescribably odd to see the Hermione Granger so vulnerable. He didn't think he'd ever see her cry.

"Yes well," He said awkwardly, the fire he had previously felt for bothering her had waned slightly. "It was a nice little bit of entertainment to ring in the New Year."

There was an awkward pause between them as fireworks popped and banged outside. He was waiting for her to say something, to defend her actions or insult him, but instead they just sat together in silence. Though it only lasted for a few minutes it felt like hours, and Draco was beginning to wonder if he should have followed her upstairs at all.

"I've made a mistake, haven't I?"

When she did speak it shocked Draco so much he almost fell back onto the bed like she had a few moments before. Before he could even think of an appropriate response, she continued in the same shaky and quiet voice she had before.

"I can't do any better than Ron. He was it, my only shot."

Draco flinched at her words, his mouth dropping open as she started to quietly cry once again. He realised at that moment just how much she'd evidently had to drink – there was no way she would have normally approached Draco Malfoy with her problems.

"Don't be thick, Granger, he was always the one punching above his weight."

His mouth snapped shut as soon as he'd uttered the treacherous words, the ones he'd been thinking pretty much ever since he'd first seen the two of them together. It was then that he realised just how much _he'd_ had to drink.

She looked at him for the first time, her amber eyes were wet with unshed tears as she stared at him in confusion.

"Alright, don't over think it or anything I just mean that," He was cut off trying to explain himself by Hermione Granger launching forwards and pulling his face towards hers. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, and Draco was dimly aware of people cheering and shouting downstairs.

It was midnight.

Her hands were in his hair, her lips were slightly damp with tears and tasted of salt and eggnog, but her mouth had the flavour of fresh strawberries. It was intoxicating.

Hermione was dimly aware of his hands exploring her sides and gently stroking downwards towards her behind which was barely contained in her short dress that had ridden up over her thighs.

His mouth was warm and inviting, and when his hands brushed her bare leg she shivered involuntarily, pressing her small frame closer to his muscular chest.

This moment, this dark, emotional, uncertain moment was nothing like Hermione had ever experienced before. Everywhere his fingers touched it seemed he left scorch marks, his mouth was now exploring the soft skin above her collarbone, and her hands fisted in his soft blonde hair as she felt each movement with intense clarity.

It was explosive, it was pure passion, it was fireworks and hand grenades and adrenaline all at once.

It was ruined with the arrival of someone else at Ginny Weasley's bedroom door.

"Well, what a touching scene this is." Theodore Nott drawled, leaning casually against the door post with a smarmy grin plastered across his lips, the light from the hallway bathing the two of them in harsh reality.

Hermione and Draco jumped apart as though someone had tasered the two of them, and Hermione once again felt a wave of nausea and dizziness rush over her.

She heard Malfoy sneering something to Nott about a New Years kiss and bothering the Weasleys and realised that she couldn't be in that room any longer, not with either of them.

Hermione once again found herself fleeing a dramatic scene she had just created but could barely walk straight as she went, determined to put as much distance between herself and the man she had just kissed as her stomach roiled dangerously.

"Oh God," She mumbled to herself as she stumbled into the bathroom and locked the door, falling in front of the toilet as her head throbbed painfully. "I better not remember this tomorrow."

* * *

 **There we have it! The New Years Eve and their first ever actual kiss!**

 **Like I said I realise this is a little break from the flow of the story, but I really wanted to write this in somewhere so I hope you don't mind too much :)**

 **I should be back quite soon with the next installment, but please leave me your thoughts and comments in a review! I really appreciate it :)**

 **Thanks again guys! (PS. Sorry if there's any typos, the spellcheck on my laptop crashed while editing :/)**


	12. The Fallout

**Here I am, back as promised with the actual fall out ;) (though not the fic, which I do highly recommend)**

 **Just want to say that this will be a several chapter theme - Hermione and Draco won't be encountering everyone they've annoyed in this chapter, but the pressing matters are cleared up :)**

 **Wanted to also say thank you so much for each new review, I love reading them all and they really improve my mood - tell me your thoughts and theories! :)**

 **Without any further delay, here's the chapter!**

* * *

Hermione Granger got up bleary eyed to the shrill beep of her Saturday morning alarm, and without even thinking flopped her arm out of the bed and whacked the off button.

She rolled over onto her back and blinked at the ceiling, unfortunately quite awake already seeing as she had slept fitfully last night. There was no one beside her that morning - which Hermione had been anticipating – there was no way Theo or Pansy would have wanted to join her after the display of the previous evening.

Part of her lack of sleep probably had something to do with the party goers who hadn't vacated her living area until around 4.30am, but most of it was because of the amount of emotions rolling around in her head, driving her up the wall.

She had done the unthinkable last night – she had kissed Draco Malfoy, and she had _enjoyed_ it. The worst part was that hadn't even been the first time.

Hermione was currently dealing with twice the amount of shame and embarrassment she might have been experiencing after that night seeing as she could now remember the kiss she and Malfoy had shared all those years ago at the Weasley New Year's party.

The memory had come flooding back to her once he'd kissed her again, (it helped obviously that he'd hinted at it beforehand as well) like a bad dream she had tried to forget which suddenly came crashing back into her conscious memory.

Hermione pulled her pillow over her head and tried to ignore the light already streaming in through her curtains. She didn't want to face the world today.

After Ron Weasley – of all people – had opened the bedroom door on her and Draco the previous night things had very quickly fallen apart. Pansy, stood just behind him had been second to stick her head in to Hermione's room and had for the first time since Hermione had known her been utterly speechless.

Both luckily and unfortunately for Hermione, the only other person to see what had been going on before Draco Malfoy all but ran away was Theodore Nott. On the one hand, Hermione knew that the three people who had seen her and Draco together were unlikely to spread such a salacious rumour around. On the other they were collectively the people she had least wanted to witness such a scene.

Both of Draco and her exes and current best friends along with Hermione's current flame were possible the worst three to have walked in on the pair of them. The only way it could have gotten any more terrible was if Penelope Clearwater and Lavender Brown had also been around to see what was going on.

After Theo had joined the other two already stood in Hermione's doorway Malfoy had bolted. He'd pushed through her friends on the way out of her bedroom, and Theo had followed him, both disappearing into the crowd of people still enjoying the party. Ron and Pansy had remained there, staring at her completely non-plussed until Hermione had simply announced she was going to bed.

It had been awful, the moments of silence which felt like hours she spent looking into the eyes of Pansy Parkinson and Ron Weasley. Pansy just looked confused, though there was a slightly irritated twitch in her eyes which probably had something to do with her past relationship with Malfoy. Ron however, looked devastated. It was like a terrible re-hash of that party three years before, his bright blue eyes looking at her as though she had told him the world was ending.

She had then cried herself into a troubled sleep before being woken by her alarm, all in all a rather unpleasant end to her birthday.

A knock on her door interrupted her pitiful thoughts, and Hermione was more than tempted to tell whoever it was to go away. She wasn't sure if anyone had stayed on their sofa last night and didn't want to be faced with Ron's admonishing glare or Lavender Brown's curious tittering.

To her slight relief it was Pansy who gently creaked the door open and crept into her bedroom. Hermione was a little surprised to see her friend up before noon after a night out, and even more surprised when the witch approached the bed instead of standing in the doorway. She sat up dutifully and put her head into her hands as her best friend slid into bed beside her and leant back against the cushions.

It took a few moments before the silence broke between them, and not unusually it was Pansy who spoke first.

"So," She said slowly, looking up at the ceiling as Hermione had been moments before. "What the fuck?"

Hermione laughed hollowly, feeling tears already wetting her lids as she wondered where on earth to begin. Although Pansy had assured her many a time that she was completely over Draco and had been since 6th year at Hogwarts, Hermione wasn't sure if that was entirely true – especially as she knew how much Pansy had done for him in the years following the war.

"Where do you want me to start?" Hermione asked a little helplessly, hoping that Pansy wasn't too angry with her.

"How about with the reason Draco Malfoy was fondling your arse in bed last night?" The other witch said bluntly. Hermione was a little apprehensive in her speech as she couldn't actually tell how annoyed Pansy was or whether she was simply in shock.

"I just wanted to talk to him about how rude he'd been to Theo and me recently." She began quietly, looking at her hands and wondering when on earth her life had gotten so complicated. "I'm not really sure how it happened, one moment we were talking and the next…"

"You were at second base with Draco Malfoy." Pansy finished for her, and Hermione was relieved to note a hint of mirth in her voice. She wasn't completely furious then.

"Pretty much. Obviously, I didn't want or mean it to happen, and I didn't want to upset you in any way Pans I just," Hermione began her garbled, desperate apology but was interrupted by Pansy placing a hand over her mouth.

"Now it's my turn to talk." She said ominously, and Hermione was utterly thrown, thinking for a moment that she was about to lose her best friend. "This has nothing to do with mine and Draco's past – we dated when we were children and have been best friends ever since, there is nothing between us now. My policy is that ex-boyfriends are only off limits for 6 months maximum anyway."

She paused and removed her hand from Hermione's mouth once she was certain the other girl wouldn't interrupt.

"My priority is you, idiot. You're my best friend or whatever gooey shit you like to say when we drink wine together. And I'm worried about you." She paused again and looked away, as though this next part would be hard to say. "Draco isn't good for you. He's not really good for anyone, and I hate to say that. Surprisingly enough I'm not talking about his snarky attitude, that's relatively harmless, plenty of people are dicks and you can learn to love them anyway. My point is that he's broken Hermione. The boy is broken in ways you or I could only dream of – and that's with all the shit Voldemort put us through."

Hermione frowned curiously, suddenly wanting to know more about this damaged soul Pansy was speaking of. There had been a period of time over a year into the girls' friendship when Pansy would disappear for hours or even days on end to Malfoy manor, leaving Hermione with very little explanation as to what was going on. Hermione had always assumed the two of them were sleeping together again, but maybe there had been more to it than that.

Pansy's eyes narrowed at her friend's expression – with all the years they had spent together she could read Hermione Granger like a book and already knew where her mind was headed.

"And don't you _dare_ start thinking that because he's a wounded animal or whatever that means you could fix him. You can't Hermione. I've known him since I was 6 years old and I couldn't, I'm trying to think of a way to explain this to you that isn't too heavy for a Saturday morning." Pansy said thoughtfully, chewing her lip as she pondered the best way to go forward.

"You remember all the time we spent together after the war, all the time you spent with Ron and Harry and I spent with Daphne and Astoria?"

Hermione nodded, her tears returning slightly as Pansy brought up the memories. It had been incredibly difficult to understand where to go and how to carry on after the war ended. It seemed that everyone just wanted to return to normal but for those of them who had been fighting they weren't sure what normal was.

The losses had seemed unfair, unjustified even with their success. Hermione had struggled for years (and still did on rare occasions) with haunting nightmares and tremors from her time spent in Malfoy Manor in the clutches of Bellatrix Lestrange. She also knew that Pansy herself had suffered not only mentally after the war, what with her father's actions at trial, but also physically from his abuse of her as he descended into madness during Voldemort's ascent to power.

She still had a few scars which served as a reminder of how her father had treated her leading up to and during the war. Hermione had asked once why she didn't just magically heal them, and Pansy had explained that she didn't ever want to forget how much her father deserved to be behind bars. She never wanted to pity him or cover up the monster he had become.

It had almost been worse than the war. At least during the conflict there had been a cause, a reason to keep going. Once it was over all Hermione knew was that she had to live, keep living for those who had died for her right to do so. It seemed an impossible task to do enough to justify their deaths each and every day, the guilt was possibly the worst part.

"Yes, I remember." Hermione replied quietly but was shaken out of her memories by Pansy's warm hand clutching hers under the covers.

"You saved me, I have known that ever since we spoke after my father's trial, and the boys and I saved you." Pansy explained, still not looking Hermione in the eyes as though she were embarrassed at the emotion in her voice. "Draco never had that. Sure, he still had his friends, but we were wary of him. He was the only one of us to actually become a fucking death eater, how could we not be?"

"Anyway, it took a little while for us to trust him again but even then, you know how bad some of us are about communicating our feelings – Theo, Draco and me being prime examples. He never had that outlet, that support system to keep him going. It was worse after what happened with his father as well obviously."

Hermione's interest was piqued but she dared not interrupt Pansy when she was talking about such important and personal matters, it was a rare event to say the least.

"I tried to help him when I realised how bad it had gotten, and I did as much as I could." Pansy sighed and finally looked back towards Hermione, her eyes glinting slightly with unshed tears. "But he is too damaged, Hermione. He will drag you back down like he almost did with me. It's not his fault, but I can't let you make the same mistake. Bringing Draco Malfoy back to life almost cost me my own."

Hermione blinked, feeling a little shocked at the intensity of her friend's words.

"I, I wasn't going to." She began, her throat slightly thick with emotion as she spoke. "It was just a one-off mistake, I wasn't even planning on ending things with Theo if I can avoid it."

Pansy looked a little unconvinced but nodded anyway, pulling Hermione into an awkward one-armed hug.

"That's actually my next topic of conversation you handily brought up," She spoke into Hermione's wild hair, her voice slightly muffled but already much lighter than before. "Maybe I _was_ a tiny bit angry with you, but only because of how much I adore Theo Nott."

Hermione groaned at this and once again dropped her head into her hands.

"Yes, I know ok? I fucked up." She mumbled, feeling the hard knot of anxiety which had been sat in her stomach all night make a reappearance.

She still wasn't completely sure what she felt about Theo, but she knew that she hadn't meant to hurt or offend him in any way.

"I'm still a little shell shocked he actually, you know, _likes_ me. I thought he just wanted a shag." Hermione mused, causing Pansy to chuckle at her unusually crude speech.

"I have to admit I'm not totally sure where he stands on that either, part of me is a little suspicious the boys are competing over you for that very reason."

At this Hermione blanched, thinking Pansy's suggestion utterly ridiculous.

"No offence Pansy but I think that's rubbish, I'm still struggling with the idea that one man wants to sleep with me, let alone a second." _Who also happens to be Draco Malfoy_ , she added internally, still not over how strange the events of the last 24 hours had been.

"Oh Hermione Hermione," Pansy said with an overdramatic sigh, "When will you learn that you're a tasty piece of arse?"

Hermione outright laughed at that comment, picking up the pillow behind her and whacking Pansy in the face with it playfully before yet another unsavoury thought dulled her temporary joy.

"Oh yes I almost forgot, what did Ron do? He was the first to see us together, you were behind him, right?" Hermione knew that asking Pansy this was a risky move seeing how little she could stand the redhead, and sure enough her best friend once again turned her face away from Hermione's so that she wouldn't see her reaction.

"He didn't say much actually, he just left." Pansy paused for a tantalising moment before finishing her train of thought. "It wasn't really a storming off though, he just looked quite bewildered, maybe a little bit hurt."

"Do you know why he opened my door in the first place? And come to think of it why were you there too?" Hermione pondered aloud, still trying to piece together the fragmented events of her 24th birthday.

"I saw him opening doors, he went for my bedroom first of all places, and asked him what he was doing. He said he was looking for you and it was then I realised I hadn't seen you in a while either." The other witch responded a little coolly, "Trust me Hermione, we weren't buddying up. We just wanted to know where you disappeared to."

Hermione flushed as she realised it sounded a little like she was questioning Pansy when it obviously wasn't her who was in the wrong.

"Speaking of the Weasleys," Hermione decided to try and make it up to her friend by changing the subject and throwing her a bone. "You brought up Ginny last night and it got me thinking. I should try and talk to her again sometime soon."

At this Pansy jumped into a sitting position excitedly and beamed down at Hermione. The brunette felt quite guilty that she had effectively been keeping her two friends apart for so long for very little reason.

"It's actually funny you should say that, because, well don't be angry with me is what I need to start by saying," Pansy began, chewing her lip a little apprehensively as Hermione's eyes narrowed. She had a feeling she wouldn't like this. "Well you know how Harry gets when he's drunk, and Ginny was feeling too tired when it came to bringing him home so they're sort of… in her old room right now. Well Ginny was, Harry passed out on the sofa."

Hermione groaned and flopped back against her pillows, registering for the first time what sounded like someone making breakfast in their kitchen – undoubtedly Ginny as Harry wouldn't be conscious yet.

This really had worked out to be one of her worst birthdays to date.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was royally fucked.

No longer in the drunk sense, but simply in the screwed-over-one-of-his-best-childhood-friends sense.

He got out of bed slowly and placed his bare feet on the cold wooden floor of his empty bedroom, his mind beginning to whir as he thought over his options.

It was freezing in the room, and he realised that he had flung open the window at some point in the night, his light grey curtains were billowing slightly in the breeze. His room in his home wasn't anything like his childhood bedroom in the manor, unlike that dark space furnished with mahogany and green exclusively, his new bedroom was lighter and had more windows. The furnishings were soft blue and grey, and the cabinets a mid, warmish brown.

However it was mornings like this one he still wished he were in the dark, unfriendly environment of his old room which daylight barely touched.

Last night had been a mistake – no other way to describe it. He had successfully broken up with his fake girlfriend, the only person who currently spoke to him at work and had upset all of his closest friends who also happened to be his other colleagues.

Draco sighed as he thought back to what had happened after the alcohol and exhaustion had led him to believe pursuing Hermione Granger would be a good idea. He had pretty quickly sobered up when her freckly ex-boyfriend had appeared at the door – Weasley's dim-witted expression tended to have that effect on people he supposed.

By the time Pansy and Theo had joined the party Draco had successfully extracted himself from a stunned Granger and decided it was time to make a run for it, though of course Nott wasn't going to let him off without a warning.

He had been cornered by Theo as he had been about to leave the glamoured alleyway Hermione's apartment was nestled in, but in all honesty, Draco had only been surprised by the ambush as he'd thought it would have come sooner.

"What the ever-loving _fuck_ do you think you're playing at?" Nott had hissed into his ear, grabbing him by the collar and throwing him against the wall roughly.

Draco had winced in surprise, he had not expected Theo's strength, especially considering the man's short and sweet appearance. He looked sort of like a cherub, with his soft curly locks and delicate features, a nickname which had followed him around Hogwarts until he'd lost his chubby cheeks.

Theo had certainly matured in the years following that time, his jaw and cheekbones had become more angled and his eyes more serious, but it was only at that moment Draco realised quite how strong he had become.

When his target had no response to give, Theo delivered a swift punch to Draco's stomach, causing him to double over and upchuck the last few drinks he had downed. Not a pretty sight.

"I'm just getting started, trust me on that." The smaller man roared, flexing his hand dangerously as Draco coughed and spluttered. "I should torture you for what you just did in there, though I suppose I should have known _you_ would stoop so low."

"It wasn't what it looked like," Draco wheezed, slowly pulling himself back up to a standing position and watching Theo warily.

"It looked like you had your tongue down the throat of the girl I'm seeing." Theo barked back, the punch he threw this time connecting with his old friend's nose with a crack. "Why are you even doing this? To spite her? To spite _me_?! You don't even care about her."

Draco had decided at the time, and was still pleased with his rationality even sober, not to properly address that question. The truth was he didn't completely understand the motivation behind his actions, though he had told himself when entering the party it _was_ to spite Theo and Hermione, the guilt he felt now suggested that wasn't the case, there was something else which had driven him to approach her.

"I could say the same to you," Draco spat blood onto the ground close to Theo's shoe and finally met the other boys furious gaze with a sneer. "You only wanted a shag."

When Theo went in for a third time Draco was ready, countering him with his left arm and hitting back with his right, delivering a blow to the face that no doubt would leave a nasty black eye.

Theo wasn't done however, and he recovered far quicker than Draco was expecting, using the element of surprise to catch the other man off guard and grab him by the throat.

"What goes on between myself and Hermione is my business and my business alone." He growled.

Draco's eyes widened at the ferocity of his friend's words, and despite his precarious position he croaked out a weak laugh.

"Fucking hell, you actually bloody _like_ her, don't you?" He smiled nastily, blood from his nose staining his pearly whites crimson in the dim glow of the streetlight.

But Theo surprised him once again. The other man's eyes narrowed and then widened in understanding. He released Draco suddenly from his grip, letting him fall to the dirty ground at his feet.

"You really are pathetic." He said softly, in a tone that was almost pitying. Before Draco had time to retaliate or argue back, he had turned on his heel and was leaving the alleyway.

He uttered one last sentence before he left, and Draco realised by the tone of his voice that not only was he completely serious, but that their friendship may be more damaged than he had anticipated.

"I don't want to see you near Hermione again. Don't pester her, don't annoy her, don't talk to her. She shouldn't have to spend time with the likes of _you_."

With that he disapparated.

Draco groaned softly as he revisited the events which had left him with a broken nose and terribly bruised appearance. He truly wished he had a better control over his own actions and was beginning to feel nothing but regret now that he had sleep and no alcohol in his system.

He numbly considered just giving up again. Quitting his job, returning to the dark, dusty wing of the manor he used to call home and doing nothing but drink and sleep. He doubted that even Pansy would come for him this time, he had probably burned that bridge by making out with her best friend.

With another groan he lifted himself off of the bed and slumped towards the shower, his hungover mind was dull and not whirring away like it usually did, coming up with those pervasive thoughts about the brunette witch which had gotten him into trouble in the first place.

He wondered if this meant his theory had worked, and he actually was over the whole 'Granger' thing now.

He then realised that last night he had effectively risked his reputation, status and most of his friendships for a kiss with Hermione Granger.

 _Does that mean something?_

He thought, feeling the cogs and wheels in his brain begin to wake up and stir.

"No." He answered, saying it out loud for emphasis. He felt back in control of his emotions for the first time in a while, it probably had something to do with a solid night's sleep. He shut down that troublesome part of his brain and stared at himself sternly in the bathroom mirror.

It didn't mean anything at all.

* * *

Hermione shuffled into her kitchen, the fluffy blanket from her bed wrapped around her shoulders and slippers encasing her feet. She flopped down onto one of the barstools and allowed Pansy to fetch her a glass of water and some ibuprofen – God knows she needed it.

Ginny Weasley was stood at the stove that the three of them formerly shared and appeared to be making eggy bread, the smell of which along with frying bacon was making Hermione's mouth water.

The redheaded witch turned around and shot her former roommate an awkward smile before gesturing to the pans and plates around her.

"I hope you don't mind, I thought I'd make breakfast." She said shortly, but Hermione knew from that gesture that there was so much more the woman had left unsaid which she meant as well.

Ginny was saying that she knew it was Hermione's 24th birthday weekend and that her home cooked breakfasts were one of Hermione's favourite things.

She was saying that she still remembered how Hermione liked her eggy bread as there was sugar and honey already set out next to a plate on the counter, along with a full glass of orange juice that Ginny had clearly gone out to buy as Hermione knew for a fact Pansy had finished the carton a few days ago but refused to get more.

Hermione watched Ginny load up a plate with a few pieces of still steaming hot eggy bread and rashers of bacon and slid it slowly across the counter and in front of the birthday girl.

It took a few moments of awkward silence before she laid down the spatula next to it and spoke.

"I'm sorry."

But Hermione had known that since she'd walked through the door and smelled breakfast cooking. She looked up and met Ginny's eyes for the first time in a few weeks and could see the strain and worry there, and made a decision.

Two words and a breakfast weren't really enough, not after the things Ginny had said to her, but they were a start.

Hermione smiled slightly back and watched as some of the stress ebbed from her former best friend's expression.

"I know." Was her equally short reply.

She watched and waited for Ginny to finish serving herself and Pansy a plate of food - the latter took hers away to her bedroom clearly sensing that the other two women needed some space - before she started to tuck in.

The two ate in only slightly uncomfortable silence for a little while before Ginny spoke again.

"I want you to know that I didn't mean anything I said. It was rude and unnecessary and,"

"Stupid?" Hermione interjected after swallowing her mouthful of bacon, Ginny blushed but nodded in agreement. "Well I need to apologise too, I said some pretty stupid things to you Gin."

The redhead nodded and paused before starting her next sentence.

"I didn't believe it either Hermione, you don't need to settle down and you don't need to stop having fun," She gulped, and Hermione thought for a second, she might be about to cry. This shocked the brunette, who was pretty sure she could count on one hand the amount of times she'd seen Ginny Weasley shed a tear. "I was jealous, and that's a fact. I lashed out and said some ridiculous things about you that I shouldn't have, and I lost my best friend because of it."

Hermione's jaw dropped as Ginny raised a trembling hand and swiftly wiped away a stray tear, she had not been expecting this, not based upon how stubborn both she and Ginny usually were.

"Hey, it's ok." She said slowly, gently reaching out to place her palm over Ginny's hand. She still wasn't quite in a cuddling place with her yet. "You didn't lose me, we just need to recover a bit that's all. I promise and remember I did give as good as you pretty much."

Ginny chuckled weakly and nodded. She looked so completely lost and forlorn in that moment Hermione found herself regretting nothing more in the world than calling her a stupid housewife, even the multiple kisses she'd shared with Draco bloody Malfoy.

"Will you tell me something Gin?" Hermione asked tentatively after a few moments of quiet had elapsed. "Is everything ok with you and Harry and James? Is there something going on?"

She dimly remembered Pansy saying something about Ginny being much more than just one half of a marriage to Harry Potter and bit her lip as she sincerely hoped nothing was wrong.

"We're fine, I just," As Ginny began to speak once again a ruffled shock of black hair surfaced from on top of one of Hermione's sofas, and the bleary face of Harry Potter himself looked up to meet their gaze.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, before flopping back down onto the sofa. After just a few moments the sounds of deep, relaxed snores were filling the room from where Harry was lying, and Hermione had to smother a giggle at the state of her best friend.

When she turned back to Ginny however, the witch looked almost green, and had pushed her nearly full plate of breakfast away from her.

"I can't really speak right now." She muttered in response to Hermione's concerned stare, before standing up and going over to the sink to wash up.

Hermione may have only just begun to reconcile with Ginny Weasley, but she wasn't going to let something like that go so easily.

Hermione put two and two together and noted that this was a subject that could not be discussed in front of the man currently asleep on her sofa, and approached Ginny cautiously, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We could have brunch tomorrow, somewhere in muggle London maybe?" Hermione suggested tentatively and was relieved when Ginny looked towards her and smiled.

"That would be great, thanks Hermione." She replied, still a little quiet but looking more comfortable than she had a few minutes ago.

Hermione grinned back, going over to the counter to finish her breakfast. Their apartment had held up surprisingly well after the palaver of last night – though she did have a sneaking suspicion that had something to do with the redheaded witch in front of her.

She then turned around and waved to Pansy who was, as expected, lingering in the corridor eating her French toast and undoubtedly earwigging their conversation.

The dark-haired witch blushed faintly but smirked and came back into the room to join them.

"I'm proud of you." Pansy said quietly to Hermione after a few minutes of the two of them sitting in silence munching away at their breakfasts. Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled once again.

"Never thought I'd see the day when you were more mature and sensible than I am." She quipped, causing the other witch to chuckle slightly.

"Let's not forget it was also you and not me who got caught drunk snogging someone she shouldn't by an ex last night."

Hermione's expression soured, and she was sure she heard Ginny smother a laugh over by the sink.

"Yeah ok, don't push it Pans." She mumbled, turning back to her breakfast with a grimace.

* * *

 **So there we have it! The beginning of the aftermath!**

 **Obviously there a still a few people we need to think about, in particular Ron and Theo - have they told anyone else? If so, how will those people react? Also more pressingly, what is going on with Ginny?**

 **Please leave me some theories in your reviews, I would love to hear what you think is coming next!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to include a little bit of Draco as well so we could gauge how he's feeling, hope you liked it! :)**

 **As always, thanks for reading and see you soon!**


	13. The Talk

**Here we are! Another week another update :)**

 **PSA, I did try and post this yesterday but the website was acting up so I couldn't :/**

 **This chapter gives us some conflict resolution regarding Ginny and Hermione and a few more answers in terms of what did people think about the kiss? Who know? Does anyone care?!**

 **Thanks for all the reviews last chapter I read and enjoyed each one - knowing you guys engage with what I write is so gratifying :)**

 **Anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Draco Malfoy seriously considered not getting out of bed at all the following Sunday morning.

Sundays were usually one of his favourite days of the week – he and his two best friends, usually accompanied by Astoria and Pansy or Daphne, would head out for a pub lunch somewhere in the Wiltshire countryside. They would follow it up with a long and tiring walk through the forest until going their separate ways, it was the perfect way to end the week – sometimes even a light match of Quidditch was involved.

This week Draco doubted very much anyone would be knocking on his door and inviting him out in Astoria's mum-mobile. He managed a faint smile at the thought of Astoria Zabini's Land Rover – despite being a witch all her life (and a pureblood at that) Astoria had learnt to drive after finishing school. At first it had been out of necessity as they liked to frequent some muggle villages or smaller towns which were most easily accessed by car. But over time she had grown to love it, preferring to take everyone out in her car rather than travel magically (which she claimed was uncomfortable and simply not as quaint as an afternoon drive).

Astoria had even tried arguing that travelling the muggle way was safer and so she preferred it when taking Gio and Aurora out with her. Draco thought it was ludicrous yummy-mummy thinking she'd developed during all that time spent at home with two toddlers, but he wanted to keep his balls in-tact and so had never voiced that opinion to her.

The smile faded from his lips as he realised there was no sense in thinking about his friends, as they probably weren't even that anymore. Obviously, Theo was outraged with him, and despite he and Blaise being less close than Draco and the Italian, Blaise was also a man of honour and fairness. He would undoubtedly side with Theo on this one and so along with him would go Astoria, and it went without saying that Pansy would be incredibly pissed off with him for any one of many justifiable reasons.

The only person he could see not taking a side or even choosing to stand by him was Daphne, who had inexplicably allowed him to go ahead with his ridiculous plan nearly two days ago. However, he was beginning to think she had done that to get him back for all the jokes he made about them having sex a few years before. She would probably side with the boys and her sister as well, leaving him truly alone. It had been enough that they'd switched him out for Granger at work, but now he had lost them altogether.

He forced himself to get out of bed before midday, which he considered an achievement, and was about to call Mopsy as he was feeling too lazy to sort himself out with any food when the doorbell rang.

For a moment, Draco Malfoy seriously considered the possibility that it was Hermione Granger outside, her infuriating hair all frazzled and curled, her face heated, eyes wet ready to chew him out or cry about what the two of them had done earlier that weekend. The mental image began to draw out some complex emotions he'd been steadily avoiding since Friday night, and he hurried down stairs to find out who was really there and put his over-active imagination to bed.

The actual figure stood in his porch was almost as surprising.

"Astoria?" He spluttered, blinking in confusion at the smiling blonde witch stood in her pale pink waterproof and matching rubber wellies. It was raining outside, something Draco would have known had he gotten up at any point in the last eighteen hours.

The beaming grin on her pretty face had already started to wane once he'd opened the door, and had now morphed into a frown once she'd finished looking him up and down.

"You're still in your pyjamas? Draco we've been doing this for years and you _still_ can't get used to the time?!"

Draco Malfoy found himself, for the first time in a long time, completely speechless. Sure enough, behind Astoria a few meters down the drive stood her sister in her yellow Macintosh, flanked by Blaise and Theo who were leaning on the mucky Land Rover. He could even make out the twins grinning faces in the windows.

Daphne had clocked, even from a distance, the look of utter bewilderment on his face and took the opportunity to rescue him. She jogged over to Astoria as quickly as she could in her wellington boots and grabbed hold of his arm.

"Think he's a little hungover, two-day bender I presume," She said speedily to her sister, who was still stood glaring in irritation at the tall blonde man before her. "I'll help him find his waterproofs and we'll be out in a few minutes."

Daphne chirped, flashing her sister a reassuring smile before she pushed Draco back into his house and closed the front door behind her.

"I'll make this quick," She said, throwing open the cupboard under the stairs and muttering an accio to quickly locate his coat and boots. Draco sensed he should be running upstairs to get changed but was still a little shell shocked. "I know, Theo knows, but nobody else here does. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only people who know about what happened are you, me, Theo, Hermione _obviously_ , Ron and Pansy."

"What?!" Was all he could splutter before she had once again grabbed him by the arm and was tugging him upstairs. "How is that even possible?"

Daphne shrugged, pushing open his bedroom door and wincing at the mess.

"Fucking hell Draco, when I said two-day bender I was joking." She grimaced, noting the several discarded empty bottles of whiskey littering his floor which was also strewn with dirty clothes.

Draco felt himself flush and quickly turned to his wardrobe to try and find something weather appropriate which was also clean.

"I didn't ask for your bloody judgement Greengrass – come to think of it I didn't ask for your presence at all." He snapped back defensively as Daphne sighed and began waving her wand to clean up the mess as best she could while he got changed behind the wardrobe door. "Anyway, tell me again how it's possible that not every single person in the wizarding world knows I tongued Hermione Granger?"

"I heard there was an arse grab as well." Daphne smirked, ducking as a dirty sock was flung in her direction. "Alright, alright! I actually don't know. Theo grabbed hold of me on his way out of the party after you'd flown past, I assume to pummel you," Here she gestured to his still darkly bruised face and he nodded. "He told me what had happened and grilled me about what we had spoken about earlier in the night. Then he left."

Draco pulled a jumper over his head and gestured for Daphne to leave his room. Why she had felt the need to follow him in there in the first place was beyond him. He was friends with some truly meddlesome witches.

"Why would Theo not spread it around? He loves having the higher ground." Draco mused as they hurried back down the stairs and he flung on his coat.

"I don't know, maybe he's actually hurt and embarrassed by what you did to him?" Daphne pointed out, to which Draco laughed.

"Theo? With feelings? As if." He snorted dismissively as he tugged on his boots and opened the door once again. He knew he wasn't being entirely fair, clearly some part of Theo did actually care for Hermione, that had been obvious when they'd spoken outside her apartment nearly 48 hours before. But he couldn't see a logical reason for Theo to keep his indiscretion quiet - the man might fancy Hermione Granger but that didn't make him a saint.

"That was sooner than I expected." Astoria said drily, still stood in the same position she had been minutes before. She gestured towards the waiting car and followed her sister and Draco over to it.

Draco returned Blaise's hug once they reached the vehicle and nodded awkwardly to Nott, who wasn't looking him in the eye. He still couldn't wrap his head around why Theo wouldn't have spread his discrepancy around – maybe it was to do with the fact that Nott still hadn't managed to nail Granger and didn't want to ruin her reputation before he did. He couldn't possibly care _that_ much about the wench.

"It's Uncle Malfoy!" Gio screeched when Draco slid into the middle seat. He didn't think he'd ever been happier to see the twins, especially when Nott sat himself on Draco's right side.

"I've told you before Gio, call me Draco." He replied with a smile, turning around to face the little boy who was strapped in next to his sister in the back two seats.

"Do you know where we're going today Uncle Draco?" Aurora chirped, her honey blonde curls bouncing as she wriggled around in her car seat.

"No, I do not." Draco muttered, more to himself than to the toddlers behind him.

"We're going to the Old Crown, near Lyndhurst." Theo replied quietly. Draco jolted at his sudden speech but tried to pass it off as a reaction to the car suddenly starting.

From the small smirk which graced Theo's face, he hadn't succeeded in masking his surprise.

"Your nose looks rather painful Draco, wonder what happened there?" The other man asked smoothly, looking out of the window so that the couple in the front seats who undoubtedly heard would not see him smiling.

"Yes, I wondered about that, what happened to you? Do you not have any bruise salve?" Astoria called back from the driver's seat and Blaise nodded in agreement.

Draco narrowed his eyes and stared at Nott angrily, starting to catch on to what the other man's plan had been.

The truth was he hadn't even thought about fixing himself up a bit, he'd been very much under the assumption he would be left alone for the forty-eight hours following his and Theo's altercation.

There was also something significant about bearing and suffering with a painful or ugly bruise, Draco thought. That annoying little conscience which seemed to be getting louder and louder everyday rationalised that he probably deserved the few punches Nott had delivered on Friday night, and so he hadn't thought it right to cover them up or heal them.

Nott's, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Blacked out on Friday," Draco replied shortly, still glaring at the side of Theo's face. "Probably fought with a squib or something."

Theo bristled at the word squib but otherwise did not react, clearly committed to the charade.

Daphne was already looking quite uncomfortable, and clearly was beginning to regret not taking up Blaise's offer of the passenger seat.

"You really need to look after yourself more Draco, the booze is getting to be a problem." Astoria chided in her mum-like manner causing Draco to roll his eyes, though he did manage a small smile. It was nice to know someone cared.

The rest of the car journey was thankfully taken over by Aurora and Gio's rendition of many popular Disney songs (though Draco was not currently aware of who this 'Walt Disney' was, he was certain after hearing a song about a magic carpet over 6 times that he didn't want to find out), not more awkward conversation spurred on by Theo Nott.

Once they'd arrived at the pub and Astoria and Blaise had unloaded their little ones from the back of the car, Draco had a moment to pull Nott aside as they walked up through the mud towards the entrance.

"Do you want to explain to me what all this is about?" He asked under his breath, hissing more irritably than was probably necessary considering he was almost definitely in the wrong.

Theo shrugged and pulled his hood down, shaking out his tousled curls as they made their way into the warm pub.

"Just didn't think the information was pertinent enough to share." He replied coldly, causing Draco to narrow his eyes and voice the thought that had been buzzing around in his head since he'd gotten into the car that afternoon.

"You've done this because you want to torture me, don't you?" He spat, still keeping his voice down as he was acutely aware of not only small ears nearby but those of the grown up Zabinis. "You want _me_ to have to confess or endure the guilt and the lies to our best friends?"

Draco could have sworn he saw a look of surprise, or maybe even hurt flash across Theos' face, but it was gone as soon as it had come and replaced with his usual blank, unreadable stare. In fact, he was pretty sure he had imagined it.

"Think whatever you like Draco, I didn't see the point in sharing but if you wish to I can't stop you from doing so."

Draco once again felt the hopelessness and anger bubbling up inside him – he had no idea what Theo was playing at or what his motivations even were anymore, it was driving him insane.

"Well if you think you can get me to crack, you can't." He muttered as the seven of them were led to their table. "I'm Draco fucking Malfoy, remember? I don't feel guilt or remorse."

Once again Theo's reaction was so unexpected Draco was left feeling as though he was constantly out of the loop. The other man gave him a pitying look and smiled ruefully instead of cursing at him or even throwing another punch after discovering his new tactic wasn't going to work.

"When will you grow up, Draco?" He asked serenely, moving to take his seat beside Blaise before Draco could so much as open his mouth to react.

This was going to be uncomfortable.

Hermione settled into the seat opposite Ginny in their cosy corner booth of a local muggle coffee shop they both enjoyed frequenting.

Ginny was blowing gently on her cup of green tea while Hermione nursed a cappuccino and wondered if it was up to her to speak first. Things were still a little awkward between her and Ginny understandably, and so their chats weren't as easy as they once had been.

Hermione took the moments of silence as an opportunity to people watch out of the misty window. The late September rain was pummelling the pedestrians of central London, and Hermione always found something quietly amusing in watching all those busy human beings scurry around like ants.

"I think I need to tell you something," Ginny began slowly, rousing Hermione from her thoughts. The brunette witch turned back to face her friend and was shocked to see tears once again pricking at her eyes for the second time in a few days. "But I'll start with another apology and an explanation."

"You really don't need to," Hermione said, but Ginny waved her hand and managed a weak smile.

"Don't be silly, I was a complete bitch Hermione." She admitted, taking a sip from her tea and continuing. "When I pestered you to settle down, it wasn't actually anything to do with you or your behaviour – but I assume you've already guessed that. I just feel so… left out when it comes to you and Pansy. I miss how things used to be, how close we all were and all the shit we used to get up to. Maybe I thought, I don't know, if I could get you to settle down like me I could get some of that back."

Ginny's voice wavered a few times as she spoke, and Hermione felt her heart go out to the woman in front of her. It was true that she had realised Ginny's outburst was quite out of character for her, apart from anything else Ginny Weasley wasn't really one to push the married life – she loved hearing about her single friend's woes and experiences and hardly ever judged. Something had changed.

"I mean, and please don't get me twisted here Hermione I don't want you to think of me any less, while I love Harry and James incredible amounts, I can't help but wonder what my life would be like without them. I mean, fucking hell, you were right, I'm literally a _housewife_ now. I'm my mother for Christ's sake."

Ginny smothered a sob behind her hand and quickly dabbed at her eyes with a napkin, Hermione mean while was left speechless. She was beginning to realise that she probably had as much to apologise for as Ginny did when it came to their argument a few weeks ago. Maybe Ginny had thrown the first punch, but Hermione was pretty sure judging by her friend's current state that she had delivered the fatal blow. Damn her quick and vicious tongue when provoked!

"Please Gin, don't think like that." She spluttered, finally letting her guard down and getting up to sit next to one of her oldest friends and pull her into a hug. "I'm sorry I said those things, I really am. But who cares what I think – what you and Harry have, it's the real deal. It's what every girl dreams of."

Ginny sniffed and shook her head, but did return Hermione's hug, clinging to the other woman as if for dear life.

"D, don't apologise, you were right like I said. But it's not what _I_ dreamed of Hermione, I wanted to be a world class Quidditch player. I wanted to travel the world with my best friends." She mumbled, stuttering over her words, her voice wracked with sobs. "And now I'm what, a mum? I don't even know what's going on with you and Pansy anymore, let alone Lavender, Parvati and the others."

"Oh Ginny," Hermione sighed, still determined to cheer her friend up and prove her wrong, but it was difficult to get herself into that mindset. She'd always assumed Ginny felt she now had better things to do than see her friends – not that she'd actually been desperate for that all along. "You can still go back to Quidditch – everyone would chip in to help with James and your form has barely changed at all, I mean you've only been away from the game a year and a bit. And travelling can be done any time! We could go later this year, we could plan a trip for the summer and leave James with Harry! There's countless opportunities still open to you!"

To Hermione's dismay at this Ginny's sobs only worsened to the point where a few other patrons were giving them odd looks. She had no clue what she'd said that had set Ginny off again until the red headed woman managed to choke out an explanation.

"That's the thing," She gasped, her shoulders shaking as she spoke. "I can't. I found out at the start of last month, I'm pregnant again."

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Hermione re-remembered the events of the past few weeks with distinct clarity – how Ginny had been cancelling and avoiding them more than ever recently, how she hadn't been drinking at any of their recent events and hadn't been to a girl's wine and movie night. Hermione thought about how stressed and confused her best friend must have been learning about something which would change her life even more, something which she possibly wasn't ready for yet.

 _How could I have been so stupid?_

Hermione thought with a slight groan, going over for the hundredth time the nasty things she had said to Ginny at James' birthday, when she'd called her a stupid housewife and not even noted the terror and sadness in Ginny's eyes. God, she felt like an awful friend.

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Ginny calmed down a little, her hiccupping sobs and sniffs becoming less frequent. It was Hermione who broke the silence.

"Have you told Harry yet?" She asked quietly, although she was already pretty certain she knew the answer to that.

Her fears were confirmed as Ginny shook her head slowly, wiping her nose on a tissue she had stuffed up her sleeve.

"I feel like I can't come to him with this. I can't pretend to be happy – he'll ask straight away why I knew for so long but kept it from him – and besides I don't think I want to lie." She replied mournfully. "I just feel like a terrible person for feeling all these emotions, I'm supposed to be excited. I'm supposed to put my family first."

"Are you going to keep it?" Hermione asked tentatively, feeling a little bit like Pansy as she approached the delicate topic with next to no tact.

"I don't know." Ginny answered truthfully. "I'm nearing the point where I'll have to make a decision though, and I just don't know what the right thing to do is. I feel I've barely lived my life at all, I haven't accomplished the things I wanted to by this age. But then I look at James and I think about what Harry and I have already created together and I just…"

Hermione gripped her trembling friend closer, unsure of what to say. She was still quite a bit shell shocked and felt as though she could also do with a good cry. She felt so unbelievably guilty that Ginny had been suffering and going through all of this turmoil alone, she had been pulling away and shutting herself off and Hermione had just assumed Ginny thought she was too good for her friends and their shenanigans.

"Does anyone else know?" Hermione voiced her concern out loud and was simultaneously relieved but also a little upset when Ginny nodded her head – she had wanted to be someone Ginny could trust with information of this nature as soon as she found out about it, but at least someone else had been there in Ginny's time of need.

"Just Pansy and Ron." She said, causing Hermione to blink in surprise, Ron was an interesting choice for a personal secret. "Ron was the first person I told, he'd been so great actually, I was pretty surprised too." Ginny chuckled, noting Hermione's expression.

This was causing Hermione to see Ron in a new light, well, an old light really as it reminded her of the kind, trusting and caring Ron she had first become friends with. She found herself once again feeling guilty about letting herself drift from one of the best people in her life and made a mental note to make more time for Ron in the future. It seemed she had let her life get in the way of her relationships far too much recently.

"I was worried at first because he's so close to Harry, but I just needed to tell someone, I was so scared." Ginny said quietly, causing Hermione to feel even more ashamed at letting Ginny feel so isolated. "But he was so calm, so thoughtful. He's actually been nothing but respectful of me and what I'm feeling, he hasn't pressured me to do anything, but I think he wants me to keep it."

Hermione nodded, feeling quietly proud of Ron for the way he'd handled such a sticky situation. She didn't think she'd have been much better.

"And what about Pansy?"

"I told her the Friday you got the job actually, she just happened to be in your flat when I was picking some post up and I thought she'd be at work, it just all came out. I promised her I'd tell you at the brunch or after but… well you saw how that worked out." Ginny chucked ruefully, and Hermione once again felt a wave of guilt. She should have sensed that something was wrong.

"She's been pretty great too actually, but I think the secret is eating at her a little bit. She's a tough cookie our Pans but she doesn't like not being able to help people or do something about a problem." The redhead sighed, and Hermione then began to understand Pansy's slightly increased recklessness over the last few weeks. She couldn't believe she'd been so blind to it all.

"Well, this goes without saying but we will all support you whatever you choose to do." Hermione said gently, rubbing Ginny's arm as she spoke. "But the one piece of advice I will strongly suggest you take is that you tell Harry. He has a right to know, and besides, I'm sure he's been worried sick about how stressed you've been recently."

Ginny managed a small smile and nodded.

"That's what the others said too, and I think you're right. I'll try and do it this week, it's just so hard to think of what to say." She gulped as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. "I don't want him to think I resent him or James, it's just so complicated."

"I know it will be difficult, but I trust Harry enough to think that he'd understand." Hermione said slowly, not wanting to say anything else that would upset Ginny further. "Sure, worst case scenario he's a little upset to begin with, but you know Harry Potter, he has a tendency to overreact. He loves you and he always will."

Ginny nodded forlornly, but to Hermione's relief had stopped crying. Having been friends with boys pretty much all of her formative years, Hermione was quite emotionally stunted in the helping-a-girl-while-she-cries department.

"Merlin I'm so embarrassed," Ginny chuckled slightly, dabbing at her eyes with the soggy tissue and taking a sip from her already cold tea. "Mind if we talk about something else, something to get my mind off things?"

Hermione pursed her lips and clucked her tongue in thought as she stood up to return to her side of the booth. She was pretty sure she had a topic that would adequately distract Ginny, but it would definitely lead to some embarrassment on her part.

"Well actually I think I have something quite interesting for you, and I suppose it's about time we had a catch up and discussed my abysmal love life." Hermione began, relishing in the Weasley grin spreading across Ginny's face as she spoke.

"Yes, I didn't want to pry but Pansy's comment at breakfast yesterday had me wondering who it was you were caught snogging that wasn't Theo Nott?"

Hermione sighed, but knew that this would _definitely_ distract Ginny from her current woes and so the embarrassment would ultimately be worth it. She ended up starting at the very beginning, telling Ginny about the New Years kiss she had yet to mention to anyone else – even Pansy.

She figured she had to get used to telling this story anyway, it might go some way towards explaining her actions a few nights before, actions she didn't doubt would be all over the ministry by Monday lunch time.

That thought caused Hermione to lose her nerve a little, but as she looked at Ginny's excited expression, the tears still drying on her cheeks, she knew it was best to try and take her mind off things.

After all, what were friends for?

* * *

 **There we have it guys! Why Ginny's been so strange lately (kudos to the reviewer who did actually guess this!)**

 **Sorry for the slightly sensitive nature of conversation towards the end of this chapter, just thought it needed to be addressed realistically.**

 **So next chapter is back to work! We will be delving back into ministry life and taking on the actual apprenticeships once again, as well as having an awkward Hermione-Theo encounter!**

 **Tell me what you think in the reviews! I'm excited to get the next chapter up but soon :)**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	14. The Ministry

**Back again! Hope you enjoyed the last update, I wanted to clear up Ginny's troubles and why she's been so distant**

 **This week there's actually some work going on (shock!) at the ministry, and we discover a little more about the actual tasks of the apprenticeship.**

 **Thank you as always for reading and double thanks to those who reviewed, I love reading them :)**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

At first Hermione was a little nervous that her decision to tell Ginny about the events involving Draco Malfoy would lead to their relationship worsening once again – what with that being the night she had publicly and awfully broken up with Ron – but Ginny was just shocked and excited at the story.

"I can't fucking believe that – and you seriously didn't remember until the other night?!" She cried out, her previous tears long gone as she took a sip from the fresh cup of tea she had ordered a few moments ago. Hermione nodded, glad that her tale had had the desired effect.

"Yes, I assume part of that was the alcohol, but obviously I did remember fragments – those I put down to a strange dream I thought I had that night. I never suspected something had actually happened."

Ginny smirked from behind the rim of her teacup.

"And now it has _twice_ , what would Harry and Ron say?!" Hermione tensed for a moment but realised from the twinkle in Ginny's eyes that her friend was teasing her. "But in all seriousness Hermione, if you wanted to play the field you could do a lot worse."

Hermione's jaw dropped, and she had to put down her coffee to cope with the shock.

"Are you still joking around, or did I miss something?!" She spluttered, distinctly remembering the sober way Pansy had urged her to stay away from Draco Malfoy – a position she had assumed her other friends, including Ginny, would agree with wholeheartedly.

"Well unless you're blind you can't have missed how bloody good looking he is." Ginny pointed out, causing Hermione to blush a furious shade of pink. Of course, she had noticed _that_ , it was pretty damn hard not to, that didn't mean she was into him or anything – he was just objectively attractive. "Look I can't really advise you as much on Draco as, say, Pansy can, but from the few times we've spoken at gatherings I've found him to be quite pleasant. It's obvious he's not the mean little boy he once was."

"But what about how he treated all of us? That was bullying Gin you can't deny it," She argued, unsure why it suddenly meant so much to her that Ginny also drive her away from Draco Malfoy. It wasn't like she was tempted or anything. "Don't forget the fact that he was _actually_ a Death Eater!"

Ginny cocked an eyebrow and Hermione once again felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. She was beginning to sound like how she had reacted that day in Kingsley's office when he had chided her for holding on to past prejudices, but this was _Draco Malfoy_ – that made things different, surely?

"If you were really that caught up on how people treated each other in school, when puberty was running rife and you thought _you_ were too good to be friends with any of us," At this Hermione looked away. Ginny wasn't wrong, she had behaved quite dismissively towards Ginny and the other girls she now considered some of her closest friends. "You have a lot less common sense than I thought. Oh, and you should also be saying good bye to Pansy because she was a right cu-"

"Alright, alright!" Hermione interrupted, not wanting Ginny to drop the c-word in a crowded muggle coffee shop where there were a few children present. "I suppose I can see your point, but that doesn't factor in his involvement in the war."

"He was acquitted as you well know Hermione, there was barely even a trial they had so little on him." Ginny waved a hand, dismissing Hermione's weakening arguments. "He also testified against his own father, the man disowned him for Godric's sake, I'd say that's enough atonement."

Hermione blinked, her mouth gaping slightly like a goldfish. She hadn't known that, by the time Lucius Malfoy's trial came around Hermione had already seen and heard enough – the testimonies and evidence read out at each one was enough to make anyone sick to their stomach, and by then she was finished with it. It also didn't help that she had more of a personal connection with the Malfoy family, it had just seemed sensible to avoid the whole affair – and she hadn't read the Prophet since the rag had degraded Harry all those years ago.

"He really did that? To his own son?" She whispered and found herself once again thinking about Pansy. Her father had done the same things, and she remembered how broken and confused the witch had been months, even years later. She then thought about what Pansy had said the previous day, about how Malfoy hadn't had anyone to help him get through that, how he hadn't left his house for months and had all but isolated himself from the world.

She shuddered lightly, realising she was definitely starting to feel sorry for Draco Malfoy. It was a bizarre feeling, one she put down to being too bloody empathetic for her own good.

"Look, anyway," Ginny spoke, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm not saying I like the bloke and I'm certainly not saying you should date him, he is still a twat. But maybe he's a twat you could shag?"

At this Hermione laughed, realising just how much she had missed Ginny's crude advice, so remnant of Pansy but usually with a bit more reasoning and sensitivity. However, she had no intention of following _this_ suggestion.

Hermione had received a lot more information on the man she had accidentally begun a romantic entanglement with over the last few days, and though some of it had made her see him in a more sensitive light, that didn't mean she could forget all those years of torment. She knew they were incompatible, and Malfoy clearly felt that way also judging on how resolute he'd been in avoiding her even after his friends wanted to spend time with her.

There was nothing there between them, not even the promise of friendship, Hermione rationalised. Just because he was a good-looking man and a rather excellent kisser didn't mean all their other issues were resolved.

"While I appreciate your critical analysis of two kisses and supposed sexual tension, I don't think I'll be following your suggestion." Hermione giggled, but Ginny just smirked and took another sip of tea, one eyebrow raised in a picture of disbelief.

"We'll see."

Hermione was up bright and early Monday morning, mostly because her anxiety about going to work had obstructed her sleep. While her and Malfoy's accidental rendezvous had remained a well kept secret amongst her and her friends (although Hermione hadn't seen Ron yet she knew he hadn't said anything as there had been no howlers from Lavender demanding all the details) she had no doubt that the rest of her colleagues and possibly half the ministry would have already heard about it from Nott or Malfoy himself.

It had taken her nearly 30 minutes to decide what to wear, and she found herself cursing Pansy as she leafed through her tight skirts and expensive silk blouses looking for something more inconspicuous.

She eventually settled on a black pencil skirt and cream blouse, hoping that her jacket and scarf would also shield her from prying eyes.

For once, Pansy was up at a decent time and sat at the kitchen counter munching on a piece of toast. After Hermione had walked Ginny to the nearest floo point and headed home herself the previous day it had been a bit too late to have a chat with her other best friend, and so they had agreed to talk that morning.

"How was your day out with the Slytherins?" Hermione asked, going over to the coffee machine hoping that some caffeine would settle her down again.

"Alright," Pansy muttered absent-mindedly, flipping through a few messages on her phone. "Can we talk about Ginny now, it's been killing me not being able to say anything to you."

Hermione smiled weakly but nodded and took a seat opposite the dark-haired witch.

"I literally don't know what to tell her to do," Pansy began, aggressively attacking her toast. "I know Ginny and I know she has ambitions she feels she can't achieve with another baby, but I also know a part of her will regret this. I don't know if she can do it, terminate I mean. And there's no way Harry will understand, not at first anyway."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully and chewed her lip.

"I suppose it's really a matter for her and Harry more than anyone else – as long as they can talk it through they'll come to the right decision. Though he may be a little naïve, he loves Ginny and he'll listen to her. Although he'll probably have to shout a little bit first." She summarised, and Pansy also nodded.

"I guess there's nothing more to talk about regarding that then, at least for the moment." Pansy began, a wicked smile appearing on her lips and Hermione's heart dropped as she sensed which topic her friend was about to move on to. "So, first day back at work after tonguing Draco Malfoy in your bedroom – what do you think will happen?"

Hermione sighed and took a long gulp of coffee before responding.

"I expect Theo will ignore me. Malfoy will probably enjoy the day as no doubt the shame of the Gryffindor Princess will be all over the ministry by lunch time and probably the Prophet by tomorrow." She nibbled a fingernail anxiously. "Maybe I'll be fired by the end of the week for inappropriate actions disturbing the workplace after Harry and Ron publicly disown me? Who knows."

"Wow, so you just went right to apocalypse, didn't you?" Pansy chuckled, reaching over to gently pat Hermione's hand. "I can promise you it won't be as bad as all that. And even if it is, I'll be holed up in my office all day dealing with those English thestrals in Paris who bit a few muggles, feel free to come and join."

Hermione winced at the difficult sounding problem the International Affairs department was currently struggling with but then smiled at Pansy's offer.

"Thanks, I'd like to say I'll be brave enough to just eat in the canteen like normal. I know it will be hard but it's important to put on a brave face and stand up for yourself once in a while."

"You Gryffindors and your bravery." Pansy said with a wave of one long nailed hand. "There is such a thing as stupidity too y'know, you can take a break and not put yourself through hell."

Hermione laughed and pulled Pansy into a bone crushing hug, much to the other woman's chagrin. Though she liked to pretend she didn't care a smidge about her friend's traumas or difficulties, Pansy was mostly soft at heart.

Draco Malfoy was running late.

Despite the sort of successful encounter with his friends the day before, he had still managed to find something to put him in a funk which kept him from sleeping until around 4am, and so now he was slinging on his robes dishevelled, bleary eyed and downright exhausted.

His annoying little muggle mobile device the ministry had given him was trilling loudly and didn't seem to want to shut up. Draco preferred not to use it at all, though it wasn't for posterity's sake as he liked to pretend, really it was just that he had no idea how the bloody thing worked and was too embarrassed to ask.

Daphne's name was flashing across the screen currently as it blared out the repetitive music, which he assumed meant she was trying to contact him. He picked it up and pressed the green button. His relief when the music stopped was short lived, as he was then treated to the shrieking voice of one of his best friends.

"Where the _fuck_ are you?! It's nearly ten o clock and Percy gave us our briefing at nine – he said you didn't phone in or anything and he was _not_ pleased about it. You better be fucking dead."

Draco snorted as he ran a hand through his flat, sad looking mop of hair and grabbed hold of his cologne. There was no time for a shower, so he was going to have to improvise.

"Thanks for the concern, I really appreciate it." He replied, spritzing himself with the expensive bottle as he simultaneously tried to hunt down his brogues, the phone pressed firmly to his ear as he assumed removing it from his head would end communications or something. "Tell Percy I had a family emergency or whatever, I'll be 10 minutes at the most."

"Fine I'll try and grab him before he heads up to see the minister," Daphne snapped, clearly irritated at having to cover for him. "You need to have a bloody good explanation ready by lunch Draco Malfoy, I'll see you in ten and tell you what we're doing today."

Once she had finished speaking a loud beep sounded and the phone went silent. Draco looked at it curiously, but shrugged and dropped it to the bed, assuming she had meant to end their conversation.

He grabbed his briefcase which had been flung onto one of his expensive armchairs in his haste to drink and get to Granger's party at the end of the previous work week, and then swore as he realised he had spilt all of his floo powder that same evening in a drunken stupor, leaving him with limited options for getting to the ministry on time.

While apparition would normally be the ideal way to travel, the business of central London (especially at this time in the morning) and ever-increasing populace meant there were very few places one could safely apparate in central London without risking being spotted.

This was turning out to be a rather calamitous Monday morning.

Hermione pretended not to notice when Draco Malfoy was not already waiting outside their office on Monday morning as he had been for the past several weeks.

She pretended not to care when Percy Weasley arrived at 9 on the dot and the blonde wizard still hadn't materialised, and hoped Theo Nott (who had been looking at her intently since he had stepped into the corridor) didn't notice as she chewed her lip, worrying _she_ was the reason for his absence.

Interestingly, Padma had not harassed her for information the moment she had met Hermione at the fireplaces, but instead had gone into a long and detailed story about how Oliver Wood had dared her to streak on Friday night and she still wasn't quite sure where the top she'd been wearing had got to.

"In the end Seamus and Dean had to take me back to theirs I was such a state," Padma had babbled cheerily as the two witches had approached the doors to the department of Magical Law Enforcement. "I was crying and going on and on about losing that blasted top, this was while I was still in my bra mind you,"

"Sorry to interrupt Padma," Hermione had eventually blurted, her curiosity getting the better of her. "But did you talk to Draco Malfoy that night? Or maybe hear what happened after he got there?"

Padma blinked in surprise, her wide brown eyes lighting up with curiosity.

"No, I didn't, I'd actually completely forgotten he was there I was so trollied, Lav didn't tell me anything about him over the weekend… was there gossip then?!"

Hermione had to hold back her shock, trying to control her reactions so as to not give anything away.

"Oh no, nothing really. A few people asked him to leave but he refused and kept drinking our alcohol, standard Malfoy." She replied, forcing herself to sound calm which was apparently quite effective as Padma quickly lost interest and returned to her story of the missing top.

It had taken Hermione just a few more minutes in the lead up to 9 o clock to realise that for some reason or another, nobody except those who had actually witnessed the event knew what happened.

Blaise and Daphne greeted her with their usual smiles and chatter, although there did appear to be something of a mischievous glint in Daphne's eyes, Hermione figured she had probably imagined that.

While this development was certainly a welcome one, it still left her with two issues; the matter of why it was no one had spilled the beans, and how to deal with those who knew but probably wouldn't be as forgiving as Pansy.

Hermione had known she would need to talk to Theo, regardless of their relationship status at that point, from the moment she had opened her eyes and pulled away from Draco Malfoy on the 19th of September. However, his constant staring and unreadable expression was making her less and less willing to do so.

He had watched her all through Percy's briefing, and her paranoid brain theorised it was to see if she would react to the matter of Draco Malfoy (more specifically his absence) being brought up, though she hoped this wasn't the case. Theo probably thought now more than ever that there was something between the two of them, and she needed to think of a way to prove that wasn't true.

As she had already said to Pansy and Ginny, there was nothing between her and Malfoy. Regardless of his status and opinions now, he had always been a prat – a fact which still hadn't changed. While she had pretty much figured out her relationship with Theo Nott wouldn't go that far, that didn't mean she hadn't enjoyed herself at points and felt quite guilty about treating him the way she had.

That being said, if Theo were that concerned about how she felt about Draco Malfoy, it was clear that there was very little trust between them and so even attempting to continue any kind of romantic relationship would be foolhardy at best. The situation was so complicated.

"So, to summarise," The dulcet tones of Percy Weasley shook Hermione from her anxious thoughts, and she quickly returned her focus to him, hoping she hadn't missed anything. "The theoretical element of your course ends in a week's time with your first exam, though of course we do still recommend you don't stop reading – we all know how helpful literature can be – this week there will be no set hours, you will be expected to fill your days with studying and beginning to prep for the practical element."

At this, Hermione looked down at the brown paper file that had been handed to her a few minutes before. There was an ominous, dark red classified stamp over the lip of the envelope, and she shuddered as she considered what would be inside.

"To repeat – cases will be allocated by the end of next week. Please make sure you go through the files thoroughly to get an idea of each individual being brought to trial next summer, as we do consider personal preference when allocating the defendants." Percy finished up, grabbing hold of his briefcase and straightening his robes. Hermione noted that there was a sixth file left untouched on the table beside him and wondered for the hundredth time what had happened to Draco Malfoy.

"Good luck with your written exam on Monday, just remember to go over the materials and readings we have been discussed so far during the apprenticeship." Was Percy's final remark before he swept away from the room and made his way out towards the lifts.

The moment he was gone Hermione noticed Daphne pull out her mobile phone and hurry out of the room, most likely trying to reach the missing blonde wizard on everyone's minds.

She was about to follow and see if there was anything she could do to help when someone tapped her gently on the shoulder and distracted her from her path.

"Hermione," Theo Nott said curtly, nodding his head in greeting as she turned to face him in surprise. Well, momentary surprise, he had been staring at her the entire hour. "Would you mind if we spoke alone for a moment?"

Hermione could do very little but nod as she was led from the room and into the corridor. She could hear Daphne's fast paced high heeled footsteps clacking away, no doubt in pursuit of Percy to explain her friend's absence and turned her attention to her shoes as Theo spoke. She resolved to stay quiet and let him speak, no matter how terrible the things he was about to say would undoubtedly be.

"Regarding the events of last Friday,"

"I'm so unbelievably sorry," She spluttered, her resolve to remain silent lasting around 20 seconds. "I know we never truly clarified what we were, and I know you have probably been seeing other women, but I just feel terrible for… _associating_ with one of your best friends. I can't even begin to express how ashamed and embarrassed I am,"

Theo held up a hand to stop her babbling and Hermione shut her mouth nervously but was then reassured when a small smile graced his lips.

"You really talk too much, and associating? Interesting choice of words." At this she blushed but was still just relived he wasn't shouting or insulting her. "To clarify, I didn't see any other woman for the brief time we were together, and though I never labelled you as my girlfriend, I would have been pleased if you'd accepted that title."

Hermione's jaw dropped, she had certainly not expected _that_. While she supposed it made sense Nott wouldn't be all that upset about her tryst with Draco Malfoy, he was a heartthrob and notable playboy after all, what did surprise her was him essentially admitting he liked her. That and the fact that he wanted to make things more official.

"I, well I don't know what to say," She breathed, the shock wearing off enough for her to begin to think things through. She did like Nott, but she wasn't sure she could jump into a relationship so soon after kissing another man – kissing a man who wasn't her would-be boyfriend.

She was about to say as much when Theo, probably pre-empting a rejection, held up his hand once again, this time gently touching his index finger to her lips.

"So, don't say anything." He smiled, this time it was genuine and warming, and Hermione was reminded of what had attracted her to him in the first place. "I would like to continue taking you out to lunch, maybe we could study together, and you could consider my offer – taking as much time as you would like, obviously."

Hermione smiled back, not able to help herself as his words were so sweet. But she knew there was a great deal still left unsaid, and not being one to avoid difficult conversation topics, she decided to tackle them head on.

"But what about Malfoy?" She began, her brow once again furrowing with worry. "What about your relationship with him? What about his opinion of me? Won't that continue to impact any relationship we share?"

Theo's friendly expression darkened slightly, and Hermione felt herself shiver at the lifeless look in his eyes. He was so quick to shut off all emotion.

"That is of no consequence, not anymore." He replied darkly. "In fact, it was his… _opinion_ of you – the way he speaks about you and how cruelly he acts that changed my mind about our friendship."

Hermione's eyes widened, but she tried to keep any sign of hurt from them. Of course, it made sense, Malfoy had never cared about her, she shouldn't be so surprised to hear he still said awful things about her. The times he had seemed vulnerable, seemed human, had probably just been an act – or his way of using her as his personal therapist, all the while manipulating and hurting her. It followed that he would have only been acting with cruel intentions and that his thoughts about her hadn't changed, but she didn't want Nott to know that this hurt her, even despite the fact that it was logical.

He would probably think she had begun to see him differently, considered that he might view her as a person as well. But that was not the case, it wasn't like one (well, two) stupid kisses would change her perception of Draco Malfoy – she knew he wasn't good – and it was clear that the experiences hadn't altered Draco's stance either.

He was still the same self-centred, nasty person he always had been. Some things never changed.

"Ok well, I suppose that's all the questions I had for now," She said breezily, hoping to cover up any sign of leftover hurt in her voice or expression by opening her folder. "Do you want to get started with today's work? Revision or looking at the practical element?"

Theo smiled once again, and Hermione breathed an internal sigh of relief when she realised he hadn't picked up on her emotional response to Malfoy. She just needed to forget those moments she'd shared with him, those two conversations when he had actually seemed like a human being.

"I think we should get looking at the practical element, I can't say I'm much looking forward to dealing with such people, but I suppose that's part of the job. May as well decide which would be the least soul destroying to work with."

Hermione resumed biting her lip and nodded a little apprehensively, she too shared Nott's uneasy sentiment regarding their main assessment task, but also felt it necessary to study each case and make an informed decision on which one to put as her first preference and which as her last.

The two of them set off together towards the library that as higher-level ministry workers they now had access to.

By far one of Hermione's favourite things about her new job was the new level of accessibility she now had to areas of the ministry she previously hadn't known existed. The Legislation and Justice Library was hidden away in the department of law enforcement and contained shelf after shelf of case files (some dating back to the years after the ministry had just been founded), weighty tomes on theories of both magical and muggle justice and newspaper archives documenting trials and their societal impact.

It was a hidden gem in the bowels of the ministry that Hermione had previously not been aware of due to the sensitive nature of much of the records kept there but was now one of her favourite places.

She shoved open the dark, intricately carved wooden door and breathed in the familiar scent of fresh and ancient parchment mixed with ink and dust as she entered the grand law library, smiling despite her anxieties.

Nothing like a library to cheer up Hermione Granger.

She and Theo approached one of the mahogany study desks that was currently not being used, and she tapped one of the oil lamps sat in the centre with her wand to brighten up their workplace. Taking a seat in the plush, red velvet chair Hermione scanned the rows of books and intermittently placed desks to see if there was anyone she recognised also studying there that morning.

Sure enough, Blaise and Daphne had already taken seats together at another desk a few meters away. Padma was nowhere to be seen, but Hermione had no doubt the studious Ravenclaw would be somewhere amongst the shelves of books and papers.

Hermione opened her brown, unassuming case file that seemed at that moment to be as dangerous as a horcrux. She flipped to the first page and had to steady her breathing as she was met with the snarling, haggard face of Rodulphus Lestrange. It never got any easier, she realised numbly, thinking about the war and the things that man had done.

Her golden eyes filled with tears as she scanned the list of charges, most of which were accompanied with graphic, detailed evidence of cases which were filed against Rodulphus. None of them shocked her. She had lived war, the sweaty, bloody, disgusting reality of it, but it still felt raw and new as she read the atrocities the death eater on the page before her had committed.

"Are you ok, Hermione?" Nott's unusually gentle tone of voice shook her from her thoughts, and she quickly wiped her eyes, embarrassed at the display. This was what she wanted to do for her job for Merlin's sake, she had to learn to handle these types of things.

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied trying to calm herself down, "I think it just brought it all back a little bit. Something I probably don't have to explain to you." She cracked an empathetic smile and Nott nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean, and Lestrange is certainly an evil man." Nott noted, the anger in his voice making Hermione wonder if he too had suffered at the hands of Rodulphus Lestrange, but inadvertently so Percy wasn't aware of it.

"I can't understand how anyone could want to defend these people, it's ludicrous." He snapped, and at this Hermione clucked her tongue in thought.

"I see where you're coming from, and I don't think I'd be able to do it, but also you have to appreciate that the law wouldn't be fair without defence lawyers. Justice needs metering, we can't be vigilantes."

Nott shrugged but didn't respond, clearly not agreeing with what Hermione had said.

Their briefing on the first piece of parchment in the folder before the case files had stated that there would be two of them on each of the three cases and they would get to decide whether they were defending or prosecuting and give a preference for which individual case they would take on, but four lawyers would be on one case in total.

So effectively, if both Theo and herself were put on the prosecuting team for Lestrange, there would be two ministry lawyers defending him.

Padma, however, had expressed interest in defending one of the death eaters as she was more interested in defence law and also felt that such a difficult case would be good experience. Hermione doubted anyone else would be interested in defence law, mostly because if any of the former death eaters or relatives of former death eaters were to attempt to defend one of the three being brought to trial there would most likely be public outcry.

Hermione had therefore already realised that Padma would be paired with a ministry defence lawyer and not another apprentice. Padma had also all but made her decision regarding her defendant preferences, wanting to tackle MacNair as she felt the most removed from his case personally, barely knowing who the man actually is.

Hermione, though she knew she wanted to prosecute, still wasn't sure how to play it when it came to her preferences. On the one hand, it made perfect sense for her own stability but also her own safety to put Lestrange last and avoid him completely. But on the other, there was little doubt in everyone's mind that Lestrange would be the most difficult case to take on.

The man was by far the highest profile of the three and would therefore attract the most media attention, something which as criminal lawyers they would undoubtedly have to contend with. There was also the problem of missing evidence for a few accusations leveraged against the man, as well as illusive witnesses who now didn't want to come forward for trial. Essentially, the case was a lot of work.

This was something Hermione had never shied away from. There was also the matter of her conflicting emotions – something she wanted to get in check before pursing her career as part of the Wizengamot as she couldn't allow her war-trauma to affect her work. Maybe it was better to tackle that now by taking on one of her largest fears; Lestrange himself.

Hermione pondered her options as she fingered the slip of parchment Percy had given each of them which had a box asking for their defence/prosecution preference and then a numbered ranking of each of the three defendants.

She sat in silence, Theo working in front of her on something or another, probably making an equally difficult decision himself. But in the end, Hermione realised the answer was obvious.

She carefully placed an X in the box marking prosecution, and then listed the three men in order beneath it.

In third she placed MacNair, also not really familiar with the man apart from the crime she had read he'd committed in his file.

Second place she wrote Yaxley, the man who had been Head of Magical Law Enforcement once upon a time.

And in first she wrote, with slightly trembling fingers, Rodulphus Lestrange. Hermione knew it was important to face her fears and ultimately come out on top of the entire apprenticeship, and that was what she wanted to achieve.

As she wrote his name something Pansy had said earlier that same morning floated into her head, but she quickly brushed it aside.

 _"You Gryffindors and your bravery, there is such a thing as stupidity too y'know, you can take a break and not put yourself through hell_."

 _This is different,_ Hermione rationalised to herself. _After all he's in Azkaban, what could he possibly do to harm me?_

 **There we have it! Hermione's decision on her practical element, something which will be a prominent feature for the rest of the story!**

 **What do you think about her choice? Who do you think Theo is going to pick? Let me know!**

 **Thanks for reading as always everyone, see you soon! :) x**


	15. The Mess

**Hello all! This week we have a little more of depressed Malfoy and a tiny bit of meddlesome Hermione ;)**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the reviews last week, I absolutely love them :)**

* * *

Draco Malfoy didn't appear for the rest of the week after a short stint in on Monday afternoon.

He had arrived long past eleven in the morning, and though Hermione hadn't been able to earwig all of the details regarding his tardiness as he'd spoke to Percy in the corridor, she'd caught that it had something to do with missing floo powder - an excuse that Percy Weasley was not best pleased with.

He had been given his brown folder, a talking to and then been sent on his way with instructions to carefully select his preferences before they began the practical element and to revise for the theoretical test on Monday.

Not only had the man been almost three hours late for work, but Hermione had also noted several dark and extremely unprofessional bruises over one of his eyes and his nose. She'd felt quite guilty thinking of the reason those hits had probably been given, but he had been there and then gone so quickly there was no way she could have spoken to him about that. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to, it was sort of his fault.

Hermione, and she supposed most other people at work, had anticipated that after that incident Malfoy would have been on time looking sharp every morning – but that was not the case. He had instead all but vanished from sight, in fact the only time Hermione even heard anyone mention his name the rest of the week was when Daphne had said it in passing at lunch.

Pansy had reacted quite negatively, and in classic Parkinson fashion had dramatically thrown her packaged salad away, claiming that she had lost her appetite due to the current conversation topic.

While no one bar Hermione, Theo and Pansy in their usual lunch group knew about the incident on Hermione's birthday, no one questioned Pansy's behaviour. Presumably Draco Malfoy pissing off his friends was not an irregular occurrence.

Hermione had quickly ascertained that neither Theo nor Pansy were annoyed with her, both of them had instead directed their anger at Draco, and it seemed they both had similar reasoning.

Pansy felt that Draco had been trying to play some sort of game to annoy his friends for spending time with and enjoying Hermione's company, and Theo felt that he was trying to sleep with her to obstruct their budding romance.

The trickier situation had come with Ron who didn't work in her department and hadn't been responding to her owls.

Hermione had finally managed to track him down on Tuesday after he'd successfully avoided her for nearly four days.

"Ron, is it alright if we speak in your office?" She had asked sweetly after manging to entrance him out of hiding with a strategically placed box of doughnuts in the Auror's break room. Once he'd appeared to snaffle a few, so had she.

He'd looked up at her in surprise, half a doughnut hanging out of his mouth as his eyes darted towards the exit she was currently blocking.

"Suppose so," He'd mumbled over the treat, his shoulders slumping slightly as he followed her into the corridor and towards his tiny box office.

Aurors in training didn't get the most luxurious of spaces in the ministry, but at least he had his own place to work (usually) undisturbed.

Hermione took the seat opposite Ron as he sat behind his desk and felt strikingly like she was about to be told off for doing something wrong at school.

"So," Hermione and Ron both said at the same time, which led to them both then cracking uneasy smiles.

"More than anything Hermione, I guess I'm a little bit… confused?" Ron began slowly, and already Hermione could feel tears threatening to spill from her lids as she caught the tone of hurt in his voice.

"So am I to be honest Ron, I really thought him and I were just going to talk about his behaviour at work towards me." She mumbled awkwardly, not wanting to look her best friend in the eyes as she spoke.

"And you decided to have that conversation in your bedroom in the dark?" Ron asked mockingly, and as Hermione looked up to defend herself she was relieved to realise he was smiling. "Look Hermione, I've said this before and I'll say it again, your love life is none of my business. In fact, I would feel a lot more bloody comfortable if you would stop… doing stuff if I'm around."

Hermione blushed but felt a smile breaking out on her lips as well.

"Thank you for saying that Ron, and like I said I'm just as confused as you, as far as I knew I was dating his best friend." She grumbled, and Ron grimaced at the thought.

"Gross, too many Slytherin boys." He commented, causing Hermione to laugh. That was something she could agree with. "What I will say is that it doesn't make me feel that great to see you with your tongue down the throat of a complete twat. Nott I could tolerate, him and Blaise are good blokes and they play a damn good game of quidditch. Malfoy… now that's an entirely different situation."

Hermione nodded solemnly. She too had been grappling with the fact that she'd kissed someone she was quite sure she still hated, someone who definitely hated her.

"And I'm really sorry about it Ron, like I said I never wanted it to happen and I certainly didn't want you to have to see it. I don't want you to think I'm keeping things from you, there's nothing between Malfoy and I."

At this Ron looked slightly constipated, as though he wanted to say something else but wasn't sure if he could manage it.

"Ok," He said finally, breathing out and smiling a little awkwardly at Hermione who was quite confused. "Just don't get yourself wrapped up in all of that bollocks Hermione, he's definitely not worth it."

Hermione had nodded, once again trying to hold back tears as she and Ron had awkwardly hugged over his desk. The two of them had made promises to spend more time together starting with a weekly lunch date with Harry before they had parted ways.

It had been too easy to let her friends slip away now that they lived apart and didn't go to the same school and all the same classes, she missed their closeness.

Hermione smiled to herself at the thought of her reconciliation with Ron and chewed the end of her quill absent-mindedly.

"Something to do with Determinism and Leopold/Loeb making you grin like that?" Her study buddy Theo Nott asked with a teasing smile of his own.

Hermione blushed as she realised she had gotten completely distracted and glanced back down at the exemplar muggle case they were revising.

"Oh no, I don't think I could ever enjoy reading about those terrible men, although I do find the theory itself quite compelling." She mused, which caused Blaise who was sat next to her to groan into his hands.

"How do you just absorb knowledge like that? You're some kind of word sponge, I don't even remember what determinism is." He complained, glaring down at his scattered and vague notes.

Hermione blushed once again but decided to take Blaise's comments as a compliment, leaning over to show him what part of the case they were currently talking about.

It was Friday afternoon, and as they had been for most of the week, Hermione, Daphne, Theo and Blaise were seated together around one of the tables in the library trying to prepare for Monday's exam.

Padma had joined them once or twice, but as she had explained as she'd left them that morning, she felt she was most productive when not working in a group and so preferred to revise alone (a typical Ravenclaw).

Draco Malfoy had not been in at all.

"Let's take a break," Daphne suggested with a sigh, the front half of her silky brown hair was tied up in a little bun on top of her head, and she was sporting expensive looking reading glasses which she took off to rub the bridge of her nose. Hermione's study look was much less glamorous (frizzy hair, bitten lips and fingernails) "I still want to know what you lot put down for your case preferences."

Daphne, Blaise and Padma had been very open about their thoughts on the cases and which they were thinking of choosing/had chosen. Hermione on the other hand felt a little unsure about spreading that information around, and so Theo had followed her lead and not said anything either.

Blaise had chosen prosecution and had put Yaxley first, he'd plainly stated that he didn't care who he got as long as it wasn't Lestrange who he would rather "hex to death than allow to stand up in a court room", whereas the other two he wasn't familiar with.

Padma had obviously chosen defence (the only one of the six, Hermione was pretty sure) and was desperate to get MacNair as she had encountered the other two during the war and didn't feel confident seeing them again.

Daphne was still deciding, and so was keen to hear the choices of her colleagues before handing in her form at the end of the day.

"Oh, alright Daphne, I'll cave." Hermione said with a sigh. "Just because you're the only one who hasn't completed their form yet so effectively I'm only at risk of influencing you. I chose prosecution and…" She paused before saying the man's name, already aware that it would probably illicit a reaction. "Rodulphus Lestrange."

Blaise raised his eyebrows and Daphne gasped in surprise. Theo looked exceedingly perplexed.

"Merlin Hermione," Daphne breathed, "I wasn't sure _anyone_ was going to pick him, you know what he did to those muggle families in East London, right?"

Hermione nodded solemnly and flexed her fingers at the thought. Everyone knew about the muggle families in East London.

"Yes, I'm aware, it's why I put him first. I want him behind bars Daphne, and someone has to do it."

 _But why does that someone have to be you_? A voice in Hermione's mind which sounded suspiciously like Pansy's uttered, and Hermione brushed it aside. This was just something she needed to do.

"I must admit, that's shocked me quite a bit too." Theo said slowly, and Hermione was surprised to see that he now looked quite irritated. "I thought from our conversations that you were leaning towards Yaxley due to his old position in the department?"

Hermione blinked in confusion, wondering why her choice mattered so much to Theo. It couldn't be that he had expected them to choose the same and take on the case together?

"Well I put Yaxley as my second choice, and I know I mentioned how much Lestrange intimidates me, but I think that's partly why I need to do this." She explained confidently, Theo responded by turning back to his notes and retreating back into his shell.

"Well," Daphne said, breaking the awkward silence, "I wonder who will be put on that case with you Hermione, from the sounds of things everyone else has put Lestrange last."

Hermione nodded in thought, a creeping suspicion gnawing at the back of her mind.

Of course, there was one other candidate they hadn't spoken to. One who had put in his options form as soon as he'd gotten it on Monday morning.

"Yes," She spoke in a tone barely louder than a whisper. "I wonder who it'll be."

That same night Hermione and Pansy were gearing up for a cosy evening in together. They had had a busy and tiring week, and were settling in with their usual Friday tradition of wine and movie night.

"I'm just saying, if I'm already at the top of my career why should I make the effort to go in five days a week?" Pansy was attempting to justify her fourth consecutive Friday off as Hermione waited for the popcorn to finish in the microwave.

"You're incorrigible." She replied with a laugh as Pansy poured herself a glass of juice. After all the calamitous alcohol-related incidents of the past few weeks they had decided to have movie and wine night sans the wine.

"Oh Hermione, Hermione," Pansy said with a dramatic sigh, "I sometimes wonder how different my life would be if I knew what all of the words you said on a daily basis actually meant."

Hermione laughed again as the two of them made their way over to the sofa to watch Monsters Inc.

"I really hate it when it's your choice Hermione, you always pick a Disney film or something similar." Pansy muttered, scowling dubiously at the bright blue figure on the DVD's case.

"I'm trying to educate you on what you missed growing up Pansy." The brunette replied with a smirk. This was true, but it also helped that Hermione was quite partial to a Disney film.

As they settled into the sofas, blankets wrapped around the two of them, Hermione decided to approach the difficult conversation topic which was her love life.

"So Theo was quite weird at work today," She began tentatively and Pansy snorted.

"What else is new?"

Hermione smirked but carried on.

"I think he was hoping we would both choose the same defendant for our upcoming practical element, he was really quite annoyed when I said I'd picked someone different. I suppose that and his proposing we make things official is making me question his motives, he's behaving a little too full on for my taste."

Pansy took a sip from her orange juice thoughtfully.

"Well we already know he likes you in some capacity, he's made that abundantly clear." Hermione nodded in agreement. "I think this is new territory for Theo so he's being quite odd about it. Think about this logically for a second Hermione, has Theo ever actually dated a woman?"

The other witch raised her eyebrows in surprise but noted that Pansy was right, Theo had never been exclusive with another woman, not to her knowledge anyway.

"You're right, maybe he's a bit confused about how to behave?"

"I think that's it," Pansy concurred, "But I also think, and don't take this the wrong way, but he's probably a bit insecure about you and Draco. I mean he knows there's a history there and that you two have some chemistry, it's probably making him nervous."

Hermione cringed as Pansy brought up her detailed recounting of her and Draco's multiple kisses which she'd finally shared with her best friend a few days before. Although Pansy's musings were logical, it didn't mean she liked them. Why couldn't everyone forget about her and Malfoy's so called 'history'?

The two of them settled into comfortable silence as the film began and Hermione thought about her predicament with Theo Nott. She wondered how long their 'thing' could actually go on if there was so little trust between them, it seemed Malfoy would always be in the way, even when he wasn't actually there.

She returned her attention to the movie with a sigh, hoping it would adequately distract her from all the craziness in her life at the moment.

But the universe had other ideas. They had barely been introduced to Boo when there was a puff of smoke from the fireplace and someone tumbled out of the floo network and onto their living room floor.

Pansy and Hermione looked up curiously, knowing that when their usual wards were up there being only a few people who could floo directly into their apartment and so there was little need for concern, it was just odd the individual hadn't bothered to owl or text one of them first.

Sure enough, Ginny Weasley picked herself up off their carpet and brushed herself off, it was only then that Hermione realised she was crying.

There was an overnight bag slung over one shoulder and tear tracks running down her cheeks, Pansy and Hermione put two and two together and realised Ginny must have spoken to Harry that evening as they'd spent the best part of the week trying to convince her to talk to him about the baby.

Apparently, things had not gone well.

The two of them rushed over to their friend, Pansy grabbed her coat and bag to put in the spare room and Hermione pulled her into a gentle hug.

Hermione quietly asked Ginny if she wanted to talk about it, but the only response was a loud sob and then a shake of her head.

The three of them nestled back into the blankets on the sofa, Pansy brought over a mug of hot chocolate and Hermione, without speaking another word, pressed play on their DVD player.

They sat together and watched the animated monsters galivanting about on screen, and eventually Ginny was laughing at Pansy's crude comments which she had a tendency to make every few minutes much to Hermione's chagrin.

Hermione remembered how upset Ginny had been about not being able to spend time with her best friends and hoped that this would be enough.

At least until the morning.

When Monday rolled around Draco Malfoy knew he was once again royally fucked.

And not in one of the two preferred ways either (on expensive alcohol or by an attractive woman), no, he was fucked in the sense that he was utterly unprepared for quite an important exam.

He had elected to take the rest of the week off as he didn't see the point in coming in to work when he was effectively not needed and could do everything he had to accomplish from home.

Of course, what that actually meant was that he had spent the week drinking alone in his room while listening to records on a muggle music playing device Daphne had gotten him for Christmas once as a laugh, but he had really grown to love.

He grabbed hold of the skimming needle which had finished playing its song hours before and slid the Elliott Smith record back into it's case. Muggles may not know how to do much right, but writing truly depressing songs was something they excelled in.

Draco sat on the edge of his bed and scanned his bedroom in the early morning sunlight. He had effectively cut himself off from the world that week, even Mopsy hadn't been allowed to see him and he had owled his mother to say he couldn't make their weekly dinner due to a prior engagement.

While he thought his current behaviour truly pathetic, it was also strangely addictive to be so alone and so mournful, Draco found himself unable to stop.

He slid out of bed and went to get dressed for the first time in several days, flinging open the curtains so as to subject himself to the harsh light of day.

Unfortunately, the effect wasn't as jarring as he'd hoped, it being nearly October, so he flicked his wrist and turned on the lamps for good measure.

Draco got dressed robotically, wondering if there was some way he could break himself from the apathy and find the will to care about things once again.

Whether Theo had intended it or not (Draco was pretty sure he had intended it) having to lie to his friends and keep up a façade was emotionally exhausting, to the point where he had cancelled on their Sunday walk for the first time in months.

Pansy hadn't even tried to contact him the whole week, and she would undoubtedly know that he had been missing work and avoiding social calls.

It was with a grim, twisted smile Draco Malfoy pondered that fact. No one was going to save him. Not this time.

Hermione was simultaneously surprised and not to see Draco Malfoy already waiting at the doors to the department of Magical Law Enforcement before anyone else was there on Monday morning as though the entire week hadn't happened.

He was clean shaven, dressed to the nines in what looked like brand-new robes and had his briefcase in hand as he waited for Percy Weasley to arrive.

It was only as she got closer that Hermione realised a few things were a little off. There were heavy bags under his eyes as though he hadn't slept properly in days, and the bruises (though almost entirely faded) were still present on his alabaster skin.

His lip had been split too, something Hermione hadn't noticed when she'd seen him the previous Monday, and as she stared at the tiny black almost healed line dividing his bottom lip into two thirds and one she couldn't help but wonder why it was he hadn't just healed or glamoured the marks.

"Granger." He said coolly, probably only to dispel her staring.

She blushed slightly and quickly looked away, turning her gaze to her polished black heels.

"Malfoy." She replied quietly, feeling relief wash over her as Padma came hurrying down the hall towards them. The witch hadn't even reached Hermione or said good morning before she launched into how worried she was about the upcoming exam.

Hermione herself was not too concerned. Even with the added trauma of Harry and Ginny's fight on Friday evening (something which still hadn't been resolved as far as Hermione could tell, Ginny didn't want to talk about it but was still living in her old room) she had managed to revise quite a lot over the weekend.

Padma was gesticulating and talking so wildly that Hermione barely noticed the third figure join them in the corridor until it was too late.

" _You_!" A shrill voice cried out from the end of the hall, and both Hermione and Padma stopped their conversation and turned to see a fuming Penelope Clearwater a few meters away from them.

Hermione gulped and looked towards Malfoy nervously, but the man hadn't moved a muscle, not even bothering to look towards the source of the shout down the hallway.

 _This is it_. Hermione thought, dreading the next few moments. _Draco obviously told her what happened and now everyone's going to find out._

She prepared herself for the public embarrassment and was quite surprised when Penelope pushed through the two women, barely giving them a second glance.

She instead made a beeline for Draco Malfoy, going straight up to him and slapping him hard across the face.

Padma and Hermione winced at the sharp crack, but still Malfoy remained unmoving. He just blinked a few times as though he were waking up from a dream.

" _That_ is for ending things with me for no reason over a week ago," Penelope shrieked, bringing her hand back again and slapping him across the other cheek. "And _that_ is for avoiding me ever since! I was going to give you a second chance but now you can bloody well forget about it, nobody ignores me?! I'm Penelope Clearwater!"

Hermione was in utter shock. From the sounds of things Penelope had no clue what had transpired between her and Draco on the night of her birthday, and yet he had broken up with her anyway? She was completely bewildered.

Malfoy (she knew from the countless Witch Weekly articles Ginny had read about him) was rarely seen without a beautiful woman on his arm, and Penelope had been twice as good as the usual because she'd also been quite effective in pissing Hermione off. What on earth had caused him to dump _her_ and not the other way around?!

"Are you quite finished?" Draco asked coolly, grabbing Penelope's hand as she reached back to slap him again. "Now now, I let the first two slide but try it again and I'll be telling your boss about this."

Penelope wrenched her arm back and spat on the ground, nearly hitting one of his expensive looking shoes.

"Watch yourself Malfoy." She warned, and Hermione was shocked at the venom in her voice. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned she supposed. "There are a lot of people here who don't want a death eater in their ranks, I'm sure it would be easy to see the back of you."

With that final insult, Penelope turned on her heel and marched away, her honey blonde hair swaying in her wake.

Hermione turned to face Draco Malfoy open mouthed, but he looked as though nothing at all had just happened, as though he were completely unaffected by his ex-girlfriend publicly embarrassing and then threatening him.

Forgetting for a moment that Padma was there at all, Hermione took a step towards the stoic man and gently placed a hand on his forearm.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Was all she could manage to say, and he jumped at her touch and the soft tone of her voice.

Looking at her with a haggard, exhausted expression, Malfoy blinked a few times before seemingly coming to his senses and ripping his arm away from her.

"None of your business." He spat, marching further down the corridor away from them.

Just twenty minutes into the exam they would sit that morning, Draco Malfoy would stand up from his desk and hand in his paper to the perplexed invigilator at the front of the room.

Hermione would watch him go and make a decision.

Something had to be done.

* * *

 **There we have it! Malfoy has lost it a little, and obviously Hermione is seeing this as an opportunity for her to intervene... wonder how Theo will react - and isn't that exactly what Pansy told her not to do?! ;)**

 **For anyone who's interested, determinism is a fascinating ethical theory that we have no free will, and the Leopold Loeb case is also very interesting! Just saw the opportunity to fit it in :D**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you think will happen next! Next week we have the reveal of the practical placements, although I think it's pretty obvious who will get who ;)**

 **Thanks for reading! And again thanks for the reviews, I LOVE them :)**


	16. The Break Up

**UPDATE:**

 **Have just fixed a name flub and added some line breaks - I'm quite cross about that as they always appear in doc manager but then seem to disappear when I post?! SO annoying! Anyway, that's why I'm updating :)**

 **Hellooo back again! Quite early for a few reasons;**

 **1\. It's the Easter holiday**

 **2\. I'm writing quite a lot recently**

 **3\. I hit 50 reviews! Thanks SO much guys! :)**

 **Seriously I love reading your comments guys, thanks so much for leaving reviews :D**

 **On with the chapter!**

* * *

"Good day at work?" Ginny asked politely as Hermione stomped over the living room carpet and slammed her briefcase down on the kitchen counter.

The witch was surrounded by flour, sugar and other ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. Her long red hair was piled up in a lopsided bun atop her head, and she had a pair of reading glasses she hated wearing perched on the bridge of her freckled nose so that she could actually make sense of the recipe.

"I see you've had a productive afternoon." Came Hermione's sharp reply as she avoided the loaded question Ginny had asked in favour of one of her own. "Spoken to Harry yet?"

Ginny's lips pursed, and she took a few moments before answering. Hermione noted the moisture already collecting at the corners of her blue eyes and immediately regretted bringing her bad mood home.

"No, not yet," She said curtly, turning back to her mixing bowl and attacking the batter with a wooden spoon. "We're meeting for a coffee tomorrow, I need to see James anyway."

Hermione hadn't thought about it, but she then realised how strange it must have been for Ginny to have left her one year old for an entire weekend. Ginny loved being a mother and hadn't spent much time apart from her son at all since his birth, but then Hermione rationalised, because of that she probably needed some time to herself. That was sort of part of the bigger problem, so maybe this weekend away from it all had been beneficial to Ginny.

"I'm sorry for snapping," Hermione sighed, slumping down onto the bar stool opposite her baking friend. "It's been a… weird day to say the least. Exam in the morning, Malfoy and Theo acting strange."

Ginny looked up from what she was doing and grinned, her interest piqued and her mind adequately distracted.

"You have my attention, explain everything." She commanded as Pansy slid into the room, still in her pyjamas.

"Nice to see you've been working hard too, Pans." Hermione noted, giving her other best friend an austere look as the witch hadn't surfaced from bed for most of the day.

The black-haired witch shrugged and grinned, pouring herself a glass of lemonade as she took the seat next to Hermione and then helped herself to a fingerful of cookie batter.

"I don't really have an excuse, was in bed by ten last night, just didn't feel like work." She admitted with another endearing smile, winking at Ginny who tried to slap her reaching hand away with the spoon.

"You have calmed down a bit recently actually I've noticed," Hermione mused. "Haven't had to cast a silencing charm over your bedroom in weeks, and the alcohol consumption has decreased."

Pansy rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue, still coated in cookie batter, out at Hermione who grimaced.

"Yeah well, maybe one day I'll settle down or something, wouldn't be such a bad idea." She teased, "But enough about that, I think you were about to tell us about some delicious workplace drama?"

Ginny nodded excitedly as she dolloped lumps of cookie batter onto the tray in front of her.

"It's actually not that interesting," Hermione cautioned before launching into the antics of that morning followed by how illusive and almost rude Theo had been the entire day. "I think he's angry that I chose a different case to him, which is a bit ridiculous, this is my career after all." She finished with another sigh.

"I agree, and it inevitably leads one to ask how much longer you and Theo can keep dragging this out. He seems to want you at his side all the time, red flag." Ginny pointed out bluntly, and though Hermione winced at her harshly worded comment, she nodded reluctantly in agreement. It was true, the signs were all there suggesting that her and Theo Nott were just _off_.

"I am surprised Draco broke up with Penelope though, as you said Hermione he's definitely not one to say no to a fine piece of ass." Pansy said thoughtfully, bringing up the earlier part of Hermione's day which was actually causing her more stress than Theo's behaviour and the test combined.

The exam had gone well, although Hermione always ended up second guessing every one of her answers after she'd finished. What was still pressing on her mind was how Malfoy had been acting, he had looked so broken and empty as he'd gotten up to hand in his unfinished exam paper.

"Yes, I've been thinking about that too…" Hermione replied softly, deciding not to mention her other worries to Pansy at that moment, she didn't want the witch to get the wrong idea and cause her to think she was trying to fix or God forbid _date_ Malfoy. It was better to keep her forming plan to herself.

"Now, I think it's time we address the pregnant elephant in the room." Pansy said grandly, spluttering as Ginny flicked batter into her face as a response. "Just lovely Gin, but in all seriousness, we need to talk about what's going to happen tomorrow."

Ginny's playful attitude had vanished completely by the time Pansy had finished her sentence, and she turned away under the guise of needing to check on the cookies which were now in the oven.

"I've been very respectful of your request regarding not talking about it the whole weekend, even though you've been eating us out of house and home," At this Ginny's cheeks warmed, but she still didn't meet Pansy's gaze. "And I'm a nosy bitch who desperately needs to know every detail of my friend's lives. So now I want you to tell us what you're going to say to Harry tomorrow. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to help."

Hermione blinked in surprise at Pansy's mini speech but was secretly relieved at the tough love. She too was dying to know what Ginny's plan of action was but had been too fearful of pushing her friend away once again to try and breach the subject with her.

She watched Ginny's reaction carefully and could see that their friend was torn between crying, shouting, and finally telling them what was going on. After a few seconds of tense silence which felt like hours, she thankfully decided on the latter.

"Ok fine, and I want to say first of all that I _am_ sorry for the radio silence regarding me and the baby, I just needed some time away from it all, some time to pretend it wasn't happening before I went back to reality." She said quietly, and Hermione put a hand over hers to show that they didn't really mind.

"I'm not going to get an abortion. I don't think I ever really wanted to, but I also didn't want to have the baby for the wrong reasons – for example because I felt like I had to. But now that I've had some time to think about the whole thing I've realised how much I love being a mother, and even through this craziness I've been excited about giving James a brother or sister. It's what I want to do."

Hermione smiled at Ginny, relived that a decision had been made and for what sounded like the right reasons. She and Pansy both didn't care what route Ginny chose, they just wanted what was best for her and that meant their friend not sacrificing anything she wasn't willing to.

"What happened between you and Harry on Friday?" Pansy asked tentatively, clearly wanting to use the rare moment of Ginny opening up to get as much information as possible.

"What you'd expect," Ginny said with a sigh, "I told him I was pregnant, he was really pleased until I told him how far along and he started to realise I'd known for a while. He confronted me about it, started asking why I'd been keeping it a secret and why I wasn't pleased, and it sort of escalated from there."

"You two, honestly." Hermione muttered with a roll of her eyes. "You're both so stubborn and hot headed sometimes, it's a wonder you get anything done at all."

Ginny smirked and nodded in agreement.

"Can't argue with that, just hope things have calmed down a bit for when I talk to him today." Her smile had vanished once again by the end of her sentence, and Pansy was quick to intervene.

"Don't be stupid, you know now that he's gotten it all out of his system and experienced a weekend without you he'll be back to soppy, we'll-do-whatever-you-want Potter."

Pansy's style of comforting was a little aggressive, but it had the desired effect and Ginny managed a slight chuckle.

"Well I hope you're right Pans, in an ideal world this whole thing would bring us closer together, I've never voiced to him before how I sometimes feel a bit of regret over my life choices, maybe now he'll understand me even more."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, finding that she too agreed with Pansy. Harry had most definitely reacted out of shock and hurt, but after a weekend of being able to think things over he would be a lot calmer and more understanding of where Ginny was coming from (even if he still didn't like the things she had told him). Relationships were all about honesty, and the fact that Ginny had finally opened up about her deepest concerns and feelings would only bring her and Harry closer together – hell, Hermione could even see Harry offering to take James off of his wife's hands every once in a while so that she could see her friends or have some time to herself, he was that kind of person.

"I think everything's going to work out with this." Hermione said confidently, and she actually believed that and wasn't just speaking for Ginny's benefit.

The redhead seemed to sense the honest and genuine tone to Hermione's voice (the witch after all was pretty terrible at lying) and smiled at her friend.

"Thanks Hermione, I don't want to get my hopes up, but I think so too."

* * *

Draco Malfoy received an owl from the ministry on the Thursday of that week, and the only surprise he felt while opening it was that they hadn't sent it to him sooner.

He had received a formal warning from the department for his multiple unexplained absences and due to doing quite terribly on Monday's test. The letter clearly outlined that he was to improve his attendance and prepare for a retake of his theory exam at the end of the summer. If he failed again he would fail the year and not be allowed to join the Wizengamot.

The third provision stated that he was also to take on the most difficult case of the three for the practical element – Rodulphus Lestrange. He had at least not been put on the defence team which he was sure would have resulted in a public lynching, besides he had put Lestrange second on his preference list anyway.

Draco fell back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling in thought, contemplating his options.

He could see three clear paths; the first was to continue as he had been and end up getting fired from the only job he had ever wanted to do. The second was causing a massive scene at the ministry and quitting, which while it would be satisfying in the short term, would still leave him with no job and nothing to fill his days. The third was possibly the hardest - just to get the fuck on with it.

He blinked a few times as he stared up at the white swirling patterns on his bedroom ceiling and was surprised when a stray tear got caught in his eyelashes. He hadn't realised he had been struggling so much until the time came to actually decide to try once again. The thought of returning to work every day, putting on a face and actually speaking to people was making his insides coil and tremor. It would be so much easier to just lock himself away once again, to wither away in a corner of the countryside where he could be forgotten.

It was actually Rodolphus Lestrange himself who convinced Draco that this was not the best path to take. His twisted laugh and manic eyes, an expression that haunted Draco's dreams almost as much as his aunt herself. Having the Lestranges reside at the manor had meant he had witnessed a great deal of the crimes that had been written down in Rodolphus' file, though of course there was no way Percy Weasley could have known that.

Draco sat up and placed his exhausted head into his hands, trying not to wretch at the invasive memories of muggles and muggleborns being torn apart in his living room, in the dungeons of his home. He had known what was happening, but he hadn't stopped it, and he also knew that this was one of the reasons guilt threatened to drown him on a regular basis.

He hadn't helped them then, but that didn't mean he couldn't help them now – at least in some way. He could put away the man who had tortured them and taken their lives too soon. He could begin to scrub away at his filthy, decaying soul and try to redeem himself slightly. At least in his own eyes, maybe then he could stop torturing himself.

Draco stood up and kicked his way through the mess on his bedroom floor which was strewn with dirty clothes, even more liquor bottles and some remnants of the few meals he had eaten since Monday. He looked at himself in the dusty mirror and blinked at the near stranger he saw.

He looked older, though it was probably just the heavy bags under his eyes making him look like a corpse. His skin was sallow and almost grey, and he looked almost grimy and rough. The first thing he needed was a shower, then maybe he would stop by his mother's for an actual meal.

It wasn't going to be easy, that he already knew. As if functioning as a living person wasn't hard enough, he was now going to have to spend each day researching the unspeakable things Lestrange had done to innocent people. But Draco knew in the end it would be worth it.

He would see Rodulphus Lestrange in a cell in Azkaban by the end of the year, even if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

By Friday the test results had already been owled to each of the six apprentices, and Hermione had (as expected) done the best of everyone. Most people had received theirs on Thursday morning, and so it had been all the group of them could talk about at lunch.

Padma had ended up getting the second highest (she felt that 87% compared to Hermione's 94% was a decent margin), and all the others present had done quite well too. Daphne had ended up with 79, Theo with 81 and Blaise 75. The only person missing from their group was Malfoy, who hadn't shown up since the test on Monday.

Almost everyone was taking this as a bad sign, and Hermione already found herself spending quite a large amount of time thinking about how she could fix the situation – despite Pansy's constant warnings to stay away from Draco Malfoy.

She was therefore quite stunned, similar to how she had felt that Monday, to see him already waiting outside of their offices on Friday morning as though he hadn't skipped almost two full weeks of work.

"Malfoy?!" She spluttered loudly from all the way down the hall, causing him to turn around in confusion and look at her.

She found herself blushing at his inquisitive stare, which eventually developed into his trademark smirk. It was comforting to see him behaving normally, unlike the distant shell of a person she had been presented with that Monday.

"Any reason you're hollering at me down a hallway at 8.45 in the morning Granger?" He asked smoothly, causing Hermione to blush even deeper and shuffle awkwardly towards him.

"Nothing really, I was just surprised to see you in I guess." She mumbled, and to her disappointment Malfoy's wall went back up. He turned away from her almost robotically and his mouth settled into a thin line.

"I've had other business to attend to." Was his only comment before a few other candidates arrived from the fireplaces.

Theo was at Hermione's side seemingly in seconds, and she had to hold back a huff of irritation as the curly haired man placed himself directly in between her and Malfoy. She couldn't handle being involved in such pettiness, especially when it seemed Draco could really use the support of his friends.

"They'll be telling us our practical placements today!" Daphne commented nervously, though she too was clearly distracted by the presence of their usually absent 6th member.

Blaise blew a strand of hair away from his forehead and grumbled something about not wanting to be near such vile humans, and Hermione found herself privately agreeing. This was certainly going to be the most challenging aspect of their apprenticeship, no question.

Eventually after the six of them had stood around for a few more minutes in awkward silence, it was Penelope and not Percy who arrived to greet them that morning for briefing.

"Hello everyone, good to see… most of you." The blonde witch sneered, her large blue eyes flashing angrily towards the man stood at the back of the group.

"Now now, don't be bitter Penelope dear." Draco snorted and rolled his eyes, making a comment which caused Hermione to smother a laugh. She had weirdly missed his snarky attitude and quick wit, especially when it wasn't directed at her.

Penelope shot her a scathing look, and Hermione flushed when she realised she was the only one who had found that interaction funny. She realised that Clearwater wasn't the only one who had noticed, Daphne was giving her a curious, unreadable look and Theo looked quite irritated.

"Anyway, this morning I'm here to deliver your official case files with your position for the practical element. Percy then wanted me to tell you that you can have the rest of the day to meet your team, some of them are already in the Wizengamot." She finished crisply, before thrusting Hermione's letter into her chest.

Once all of the letters had been handed out, Penelope left no time in turning around and stalking away, and Hermione couldn't help but feel a little worried that such a vindictive witch now disliked her as well.

She looked a little nervously at the envelope in her hands and realised that the other apprentices had already begun tearing into theirs. She placed a finger under the lip of the envelope and slid it open, already knowing what it would most likely say.

Sure enough, the grimacing face of Rodulphus Lestrange met her once again, and she breathed in slowly trying to calm herself down. She would be seeing his haggard features a lot in the following months, probably quite a bit in person, it was important she began to get used to it now.

"I knew you'd end up with that," Padma commented, looking over Hermione's shoulder. She waved her own letter at the other witch which also held an unsurprising result. "I got defence and McNair which was exactly what I wanted!"

"I got prosecution for McNair Padma!" Daphne said with a grin, that had also been her first choice. "That means we'll sort of be working together."

"I got the one I wanted too, prosecuting Yaxley." Blaise commented, and Theo nodded solemnly, indicating he too would be prosecuting the previous head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Hermione had been about to turn around and ask Malfoy what he got but realised the man had already disappeared.

Seeing the confusion on Hermione's face, Daphne shot her an empathetic look and went about explaining.

"I spoke to Draco yesterday, part of the reason he's been allowed to stay on after missing so much work is that he took on his second-choice case."

By now everyone had turned their attention to Daphne, who looked a little bit uncomfortable at the intense gaze she was receiving from Theo.

"Which was?" The brown-haired wizard asked tersely, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder why he was so convinced she couldn't be left in a room with Draco Malfoy without something happening.

"He's also prosecuting Lestrange." Daphne said quietly.

Hermione felt as though the bottom had fallen out of her stomach. Her eyes widened, and she was sure she had turned two shades paler, but she nodded all the same and managed a weak smile.

"Well," She said, still a little stunned. She had of course suspected Malfoy may be put on the same case as her seeing as no one else had chosen Lestrange, but the reality was still quite jarring. "I suppose it will be nice to have a fellow apprentice on such a difficult case."

" _Nice_?!" Theo spluttered loudly, and everyone turned to him in surprise. "I suppose grabbing a quickie in the library would be quite _nice_ ,"

Padma and Blaise looked completely stunned, clearly out of the loop and bewildered at Theo's acidic comment, Daphne just looked furious.

Hermione at that moment felt a mix between the two. She was stunned Theo was behaving so childishly, and also quite angry at that fact. Not to mention he had almost outed her embarrassing secret in the presence of a Patil sister.

"Theo, I don't know where you get off being so unprofessional and unfair but," Daphne began icily, but Hermione placed a hand gently on her friend's forearm and shook her head.

"Thanks Daphne, but I think this is something Theo and I need to discuss alone." She said, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible to avoid any further embarrassment. She didn't need a repeat of her last break up, but she knew that was where this was going.

Theo had behaved foolishly and jealously since the beginning of their relationship, and though Hermione appreciated the way she had treated him at her birthday party was unfair, if there was no trust between them after she had apologised and barely spoken to Malfoy since, it was clear this involvement could go no further.

Daphne nodded but still looked a little unsure. She did as Hermione asked however, and all but dragged Blaise and Padma away from the awkward encounter before them.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked once the other three had left, trying to keep her voice calm and steady but feeling very irritated. Theo already looked slightly uncomfortable, as though he regretted saying something in the first place.

"Just what came to mind when you and Draco were placed together I suppose." He mumbled awkwardly, and Hermione sighed.

"I can't have this conversation again and again Theo. I've barely spoken to Malfoy since that incident, and yet still you don't trust me around him." She took a breath and readied herself for the bit she was definitely not good at. "I think it's time we stop fooling ourselves and move on. A relationship can't be founded on mistrust and paranoia, it can't work."

Theo opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again, and Hermione almost lost her nerve at the pitiful look in his eyes. He clearly had cared about her, he just didn't know how to behave around a woman he actually had feelings for.

"Ok." He said eventually, and Hermione was relieved he was less like Ron and wasn't going to drag things out. He respected her decision.

"I know it's a cliché, but I'd love to eventually be friends again." Hermione said tentatively. This was her second ever break up, and though it wasn't going as bad as her and Ron's, she knew that wasn't difficult.

Theo gave a curt nod before extending his hand for her to shake. Hermione raised an eyebrow but complied, unsure if this was a good or bad sign.

She had wanted to approach the subject of her and Draco working together but felt that asking Theo to keep their tryst under wraps and maintain a professional relationship would be a bit much straight after dumping him, so she decided to avoid the subject for the moment.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Theo readjusted his robes and nodded to Hermione one final time before walking stiffly away. She watched him go and hoped she had made the right decision – she didn't see her and Theo's relationship going anywhere and so it made sense that she had ended it sooner rather than later.

With a sigh Hermione collected herself, grabbing her handbag and rifling through to find the ominous envelope once again.

She supposed it was time to speak to her partner.

 **Soooo I think that was quite a long time coming! What do you think about the events of this chapter?**

 **Is Penelope planning something? Will Theo be as chivalous as he seemed to be after Hermione ended things? What will Draco and Hermione as partners be like and is Draco ok?!**

 **Please tell me any thoughts you have! I'm looking forward to the next chapter where we have Draco and Hermione ON A DATE? (Jokes, it's a work dinner ;))**

 **Anyway, thanks for all your positive responses! I love reading reviews it makes my day 3**


	17. The Defence Team

**Hello everyone! Back again :)**

 **I'm currently in the (long) process of rereading my old chapters, so if you notice any small tweaks in previous updates that's why. Also, about the line breaks, as I mentioned in the last A/N I put them in every time, they just keep disappearing :( so if you notice a double line break here or there that's me trying to be extra thorough ;)**

 **Thanks so much for all of your lovely reviews, your thoughts are very much appreciated :)**

* * *

"And you thought this would be a good idea… why?" Ginny Potter asked with a playful smile on her lips and a spoon filled with ice cream in her mouth.

Hermione sighed and once again went back to wrestling with her hair, she had decided to straighten it for her business arrangement that night and was now regretting the decision – it required constant maintenance.

"It's a _business_ dinner, Ginny. I'm going out with those involved with the case so we can get to know each other."

"You're going on a date with Draco Malfoy." The redhead corrected. "Oh what would darling Theo say?!"

Hermione had asked her round earlier that Saturday for advice on how to dress and was currently regretting her decision - help from Ginny did usually come with a side of unwanted advice.

She hadn't told Ginny yet about her and Theo breaking things off, mostly because she didn't think the right opportunity had arisen, but also because Ginny was annoying her quite a bit at that moment. It didn't help that Hermione was feeling a tiny bit ashamed of unceremoniously dumping Theodore Nott at the start of a work day. She didn't like to bring her personal life into work and she also didn't like to hurt peoples feelings. Going around chatting about it felt like doing Theo another disservice.

"Don't be ridiculous Ginny," She snapped, trying on her third blazer and hating it as much as the other two. "The defence team are coming too, we decided yesterday it would be a nice way to start our business relationship."

"Ok, a double date then." Ginny amended, taking another large spoonful of Ben & Jerry's.

"Pansy's going to kill you for eating that by the way." Hermione pointed out, hoping to move the conversation away from Malfoy related matters.

"Yeah yeah nice try Granger," She hadn't got it past Ginny though, who was in an especially good mood after smoothing things over with Harry earlier that week. "I can handle Pansy, but I doubt _you_ can handle going out with Malfoy. All that sexual tension between the two of you is going to make for an interesting evening."

Hermione groaned, at a loss regarding both her wardrobe and how to handle Ginny at her most meddlesome.

"For the last time, it's a work outing. Besides he probably won't even show up, he wasn't there when we organised it, so we sent an invite by owl, and there is no sexual tension between Malfoy and I. We kissed by accident." She explained tersely. It had been slightly awkward meeting the defence team alone when every other group had managed to stay intact and meet in their entirety the previous afternoon. She had limply explained that her partner had had a family emergency and would have to reschedule, so they had organised dinner for the following evening.

"You keep saying you're not doing anything sketchy," Ginny began slowly, her brain whirring as she tried to think of how to catch Hermione in a lie. "But why is it you asked _me_ and not Pansy to help you get ready?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled a smugly at her friend in the mirror. Though it was true she was slightly afraid of admitting to Pansy she had organised a dinner with Draco Malfoy (albeit a business one) after the witch had told her time and time again to stay away from the man, that wasn't the main reason for her enlisting Ginny's help.

"That's easy, Pansy went out earlier today to finish something off for work." She replied confidently, but even as the excuse Pansy had muttered earlier came out of her mouth she realised how odd it sounded.

Ginny too was looking unconvinced.

"Pansy? Doing work on a Saturday? She barely goes in in the week!"

Hermione nodded thoughtfully and chewed her lip, wondering what it was that had managed to get Pansy Parkinson out of bed on a Saturday morning. If it was indeed work something serious had to be going on, and if she were lying then there was obviously something else afoot.

"So, what did Harry say when you spoke to him yesterday?" Hermione asked, wanting to change the subject so that she didn't dwell too long on why her best friend would possibly lie to her.

Either Ginny noted the worried edge to Hermione's voice or just really wanted to talk about her and Harry, because she accepted the conversation change and ran with it.

"It was actually fine, great even." She began with a smile. "He started off by apologising and saying that he was open to whatever I wanted to do, he just wanted to be kept in the loop and be aware of how I was feeling from now on. It was really respectful I was pleasantly surprised."

Hermione smiled as she straightened another stubborn length of her hair, she knew that Harry would rise to the occasion, he had just needed to get the shock and upset out of his system the previous week.

"I let him know I wasn't going to get an abortion and he seemed quite relieved to be honest," Ginny went on, "And I told him about the next appointment and we're going together. It was nice to be on the same page for the first time in a while - strangely I think this whole thing has strengthened our marriage."

Hermione smiled as she fixed one of her silver hoop earrings in place and reached for another.

"That's great Gin! I'm so happy you guys could work it out." She beamed, her eyes flicking to the bedroom door as she heard the front door open and then get slammed shut.

Ginny and Hermione looked at each other with raised eyebrows before moving to exit the room and see what was going on.

The two of them were not surprised to see Pansy Parkinson angrily kicking off her red patent leather Jimmy Choos and stalking towards the wine rack in the kitchen, what was surprising was the fact that she had apparently been crying.

"Pans?! What's happened?" Hermione asked nervously, hurrying into the kitchen and towards her friend.

Pansy's eyes were red rimmed and there were tear tracks staining her cheeks. Her mascara had smudged around her lids and her cherry red bottom lip was still trembling.

"Nothing. Just had a bad day." She muttered, pouring herself a large glass of rose with shaky hands.

"That won't fly." Ginny replied in a stern tone, taking the bottle away from Pansy before she could spill any on the counter. "What's going on? I think I've seen you cry twice in my entire life, so something must have happened."

It was true, Pansy was even more emotionally reserved than Ginny (part of it, Hermione thought, was due to the fact that she was a Slytherin and had been brought up in Pureblood high society where showing any emotion was a sign of weakness). Even when she and Hermione had spent days quite early on in their friendship talking about the traumas of war and how Pansy's father had treated her the woman had barely shed a tear, she expressed her sadness in other ways usually.

"It's nothing." Pansy bit back harshly, grabbing the bottle from Ginny and standing up with force. "I went in because of an emergency at work and a few people disappointed me. I don't know why I was surprised though, you can't rely on anyone."

The last part came out choked and forced, as though she were trying not to start crying again. With that Pansy grabbed hold of her glass and the rest of the bottle for good measure and marched towards her bedroom.

Hermione and Ginny stood and watched her go with their mouths open, and both flinched when she slammed her bedroom door.

"What do you think is going on?" Hermione asked nervously, staring after her best friend and considering what had just happened. She had thought Pansy's strange behaviour would end when Ginny's secret was out, but it seemed there was something else bothering her.

"I have no idea," Ginny admitted, taking a final spoonful of the Cherry Garcia Pansy would definitely kill her for eating when she surfaced from her room. "But I intend to find out."

* * *

Hermione stood alone outside the restaurant that one of the wizards on the defence team had picked out, tapping her foot and wishing she had worn an additional layer. She had dithered quite a lot about whether or not to go considering how upset Pansy seemed to be, but Ginny had assured her that she would hang around in case their friend wanted someone to talk too and would call Hermione if anything serious happened. Besides, Hermione Granger was certainly not one to cancel plans last minute.

The place had been chosen by Geoffrey Fartherington, a young wizard on the defence team who had attended Ilvermorny as his family had a home in California. He and his parents had moved back to Britain shortly after the wizarding war and he had been one of the first accepted into the Wizengamot's apprenticeship scheme with the stellar grades he had obtained at school.

He had elected for a restaurant in Wizarding London, which Hermione didn't tend to frequent as it had a reputation for being the place to eat if one were part of wizarding world royalty. It was notoriously difficult to get bookings unless you were on the mysterious list owned by the manager, and though Hermione (as one of the golden trio) would no doubt be on that list, she didn't like to buy into that sort of elitism.

Apparently, however, this was Geoffrey's style. The man had mentioned at least six times how wealthy and well known his family were in upper class circles in the short conversation Hermione had shared with him and his partner. He had suggested _En Feu_ with a coy smile and a wink, as though Hermione were supposed to be impressed at his choice of snobby restaurant.

She had politely smiled and said that was alright with her and that she'd owl her own partner with the details of their meet up.

The other defence lawyer Duncan Ploddery seemed quite different to his confident, young and slightly slimy partner. He hadn't spoken much in the brief exchange Hermione had shared with him the previous day but seemed more reserved and quietly intelligent.

He was a good deal older than all of them and was clearly a member of the old Wizengamot who had wanted to stay on and change with the times. He was short and stout with a head so bald and shiny Hermione thought she could see her reflection in it.

Though he had been near silent while she and Geoffrey had organised plans for dinner, she could tell that he was listening intently to the conversation and noted the spiderwebs of smile lines around the edges of his eyes which suggested that when he did engage in conversation he had quite the sense of humour.

Hermione was hoping to speak to Duncan a little more that evening and get to know him, though she already suspected Geoffrey would command the conversation and steer it towards him.

She frowned as she realised she already disliked the wizard, and silently resolved to try and be a little more open minded and not pigeonhole him as an arrogant rich boy – after all, they would be working together all year and possibly in the future.

She checked her watch once again and noted that the time they were supposed to meet was fast approaching, it was only five minutes until seven. She always preferred to be early – especially to places she hadn't visited before on the off chance she got lost - and so wasn't expecting any of the gentlemen for a good fifteen minutes.

To her surprise, it was Draco Malfoy who appeared first, the one she hadn't even expected to show up. He was wearing a suit as black as pitch which made his white blonde hair stand out so much that it looked almost silver. His shirt was blood red, and Hermione noted that the colour suited him quite well, though it was an interesting choice for a man only ever seen in greys and greens.

"Granger." He greeted her with a polite nod before standing awkwardly at her side outside the restaurant.

They stood in silence for a few minutes and Hermione found herself becoming increasingly more insecure. She wished she hadn't worn such a plain grey dress – though form fitting the number was hardly dashing and she was starting to realise this eatery was the sort of place people dressed up for. Malfoy, of course, looked stunning. Since Ginny had pointed it out it was as though his visual appeal was even more noticeable than before, and Hermione found herself staring at his silvery grey eyes and perfectly carved cheekbones.

"Can I assume it wasn't you who chose the establishment?" He asked with a small smirk, and Hermione turned away, embarrassed. She was almost certain he had caught her looking, and now it seemed he was making a jibe about the way she was dressed!

"Yes, well." She spluttered, unsure of what to say. "Excuse me if I don't own a cocktail dress for every night of the week."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and momentary confusion, before apologising.

"That wasn't what I meant at all, I'm sorry. I just didn't think all this pretention was your scene."

Hermione turned back to face him, gobsmacked. As if it wasn't enough Draco Malfoy had just apologised to her for something as silly as her getting upset about her wardrobe, but he had then proceeded to almost… compliment her character? What was more shocking was the fact that he was right in the way he had described her.

Before she could even attempt to respond, the other two members of the team arrived.

Geoffrey was wearing a flashy set of maroon robes which (amusingly) reminded Hermione of the atrocious ones Ron had worn to the Yule Ball, and Duncan a dark grey suit.

The two wizards greeted Draco Malfoy politely with handshakes and introductions, and Geoffrey leant in to kiss Hermione on both cheeks before directing them in towards the restaurant.

They were led to their table amongst titters from a few of the guests, and Hermione internally noted how although those dining were supposed to be in the upper echelons of wizarding society, they also seemed to be shameless gossips judging by the glances thrown their way.

Their table was in the back corner of the restaurant overlooking a lit veranda which in the summer Hermione supposed would be quite pleasant to dine on. The restaurant itself was as Hermione had expected; gaudy. There were marble pillars every few feet stretching up into the white ceiling adorned with crystal chandeliers. Everywhere she looked there seemed to be gold trimmings, and the seats were polished dark wood and red velvet.

She took a seat before Geoffrey could pull out a chair for her and was secretly relieved when Draco took the one beside her. The waitress came to their table almost immediately and provided drinks and regular menus before leaving just as fast. Geoffrey, as expected, was the first to speak.

"So, as a regular here I can confirm that the best stuff is à la carte – but then again isn't everything?" He commented with a toothy grin. Geoffrey was not a bad looking man, but it was clear that he knew it and liked to use it for his own gain.

He had tan skin, bright blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, reminding Hermione of teen movies from the 80's and their male heartthrobs. His teeth were perfectly straight and bright white, the amount he flashed them Hermione had managed to get a pretty good look, and he was average height with a nice physique.

Hermione found herself thinking that he had probably relied on those looks for many things in life, and they seemed to be treating him well currently as their waitress had already returned and was beaming at him as she took their orders despite the establishment being slammed.

Draco ordered a gin and tonic, and Duncan a white wine. Hermione was about to open her mouth to order when Gregory interrupted with one of his trade mark smiles.

"Would you like me to order for you Hermione? I think I know something sweet that would please your palette?" He asked in a tone that would have been undeniably creepy had he not been smiling so brightly at the same time.

Hermione registered Draco bristling beside her, and when she snuck a look at him was quite pleased to see that he looked as irritated by Geoffrey as she felt. It was good she wasn't the only one.

"That's quite alright." She replied calmly, turning to face the waitress and pretending she couldn't see Geoffrey's mouth opening once again, probably to try and persuade her. "I'll have a gin and tonic as well please, Hendrick's. Make it a double, oh, and with extra lime." She ordered crisply and couldn't help but smile as Geoffrey sat back in his seat looking a little put out.

When she met Malfoy's eyes she realised he was smiling too, as though she had just told an inside joke they were both quite amused by.

"Didn't peg you for a gin drinker Granger." He commented with a wink, and Hermione tried to ignore the wave of heat that rushed through her at that action. It was clearly just embarrassment and nothing more (damn Ginny Potter for making her overthink every interaction the two of them had!).

"Well, sometimes people can surprise you." She replied in what she hoped was an equally cool and almost flirtatious tone. She ignored the screeching voice in the back of her mind demanding to know _why_ she was flirting with Malfoy and put it down to trying to bother Geoffrey.

"Why don't we try to get to know each other a little better?" Geoffrey all but snapped, clearly irritated that the attention wasn't on him. "After all that was the point of this evening."

Hermione nodded politely and smiled at the waitress who had already reappeared with their drinks. She took a welcome sip of hers and braced herself for a dull evening most likely filled by Geoffrey going on and on about his family and how well he had done at Ilvermorny. She hoped _she_ wasn't that dull when people asked her about her NEWTs.

"So, I guess I'll start by asking what everyone's favourite subject in school was, a nice conversation starter! I know the three of you went to Hogwarts, but I don't think there's much difference between the British and American curriculum." Geoffrey looked towards his partner first, who was not paying much attention to the conversation but managed to answer the question well enough.

"Transfiguration," Duncan said gruffly in a voice which reminded Hermione of Hagrid. "It's a lost art."

Geoffrey paused for a moment before indicating Hermione should speak next, clearly hoping the older man would elaborate a little more but getting nowhere.

"I suppose I'll say Arithmancy, although anyone who knows me will know I enjoyed pretty much all of my classes." Hermione said with an awkward laugh. "I just liked the logic of it all, plus it ended up being my best NEWT result."

The three of them turned to look at Draco, who was taking a sip from his drink before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Charms." He said boldly, and Hermione smirked in spite of herself. She knew that would be his answer, he had beaten her countless times (although only by a few marks on each occasion!) in that class. "Essential to being a wizard, plus I happened to be best in my year."

Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted. She should have known he would bring that up but didn't bother correcting him and adding that _she_ had actually come out on top in 5th and 6th year.

"That leaves me, and I have to say I'm surprised my favourite subject has not already been mentioned." Geoffrey exclaimed a little pompously. "I enjoyed Defence Against the Dark Arts, although I suppose for some of us that may be a little close to home."

Hermione's jaw dropped, and she stole a glance at Draco, who despite stiffening almost imperceptibly in his seat had not reacted to the jab at his familial background. She was shocked Geoffrey had decided to bring the subject up, as far as she knew the two men had never met before and so it was a little judgemental.

Luckily the awkward silence was disrupted by the waitress appearing once again to take their order, and the four of them relaxed once again.

Hermione was not well versed in French cuisine (she preferred Italian or Chinese in all honesty) and so ordered a salad which didn't sound too adventurous. Malfoy successfully one-upped Geoffrey by ordering in French and selecting a dish which led the waitress to raise her brow, impressed, and Hermione stole another smirk at the put-out expression on the young defence lawyers face.

The rest of the evening played out without any incidents, there were awkward attempts to get to know each other through bland conversation starters which usually resulted in Geoffrey talking about some aspect of his life with great fervour, followed by Draco making a snide comment about something or other meaning silence enveloped the four of them again. Hermione hated to admit it but she found Malfoy's jibes quite amusing, it didn't seem so cruel when it was directed at a pompous, annoying individual like Geoffrey.

Eventually conversation turned to the war as they enjoyed coffees after finishing their meals, it was a subject which almost always came up among their generation. Geoffrey was wistfully talking of where he had been when he heard the news that Voldemort had been defeated, and Hermione bitterly noted that it was clear from his tone of voice that he had no idea what the horrors of war had actually been like.

"It's a permanent regret of mine that I wasn't here fighting the good fight like you Hermione," He commented with a sigh, Hermione just nodded stiffly. "Of course, I suppose I'm not the only one here with regrets, what was it like to be under the thumb of a sadistic lunatic, Malfoy?"

Hermione almost choked on her cappuccino and turned nervously to see how Draco would react. Such a rude comment was not something she had anticipated out of permanently jovial Geoffrey, even with his earlier nip. But she supposed after Malfoy had been pushing his buttons all evening something was bound to crack. It was an odd way to insult a person, Geoffrey was still beaming as though his quip had been a genuine question, and his tone had changed so little Duncan hadn't even looked up from his tea.

"If you read anything about my trial which I don't doubt you followed, you would know from my testimony it was awful. Not as bad as being one of his victims of course, I will never claim that, but not pleasant." Draco Malfoy replied cordially, taking a sip from his own cappuccino and meeting Geoffrey's gaze with a steady stare.

Hermione was almost as surprised by Malfoy's respectful response as she had been by the nasty turn their meal had taken. Even Duncan seemed to have noticed the tension at the table, as he too had turned his attention to the two young men sat opposite each other.

"Yes. Very compelling wasn't it? Your defence. Clever tack, throwing daddy dearest under the bus in exchange for freedom, taught me a thing or two about how to get murderers off." Geoffrey's eyes had narrowed and for almost the first time his blinding smile had dropped. Hermione felt a chill run down her spine as she looked into his clear blue eyes which were shooting daggers at the other blonde.

"Now Geoffrey…" Duncan began softly, sitting up straight in his seat as he prepared to intervene, but his partner held up a hand and interrupted him.

"No Duncan, I'm curious. I want to know how it feels to not only be a part of a hate group which targeted helpless mudbloods, but then to _betray_ that group." Hermione frowned at the interesting way Geoffrey described the death eaters and found herself liking him even less. Despite her personal indifference to the slur he had uttered, in her experience people who used it freely were usually not the kind one wanted to associate with. "You must be just about the most cowardly person I have ever encountered."

Hermione didn't wait for Draco to reply, though she did note that he hadn't moved in his seat and didn't seem to be particularly angry. She remembered the defeated, empty expression in his eyes she had seen almost every day at work recently and did what she did best. She got involved.

"Now you can just bloody shut up." She snapped, pointing a finger angrily at Geoffrey's surprised face. "Imagine giving evidence on everyone you've ever loved and everyone who ever loved you because you knew they were in the wrong. Imagine giving up a family member in order to honour the lives of those who died at his hands. And imagine throwing yourself into a world where you're hated by both ends of the spectrum for doing the right thing."

She took a heaving breath, very aware that her face was bright red and that all of the nearby patrons were staring at her. She didn't dare look at Malfoy's expression, too anxious to see how he would react.

"To me that sounds like the bravest thing any person could do." She finished a little quieter, before grabbing hold of her purse and throwing a few galleons towards the stunned, nasty man in front of her. "I apologise for my outburst Draco, Duncan. Geoffrey, I hope you have an evening as unpleasant as your attitude." She mumbled, still blushing furiously as she fumbled to close her purse and walk away.

 _This is definitely going to make things awkward at work_. She thought as she stalked out of the restaurant, giving their server an apologetic smile as she left. She was dimly aware of someone following quite close behind, and strangely found herself hoping it was Draco, although she didn't know what she would say to the man.

Sure enough, once she opened the door and stepped out into the fresh, cool October air it was he who overtook her and stood in her path.

She looked up at him, tapping her foot expectantly as she drew her jacket around her and shivered in the cold, and slightly from anxiousness.

"Well?" She spluttered after eventually tiring of him staring at her with an unreadable expression, those silvery grey eyes boring into her like two molten metal laser beams. It was incredibly unnerving.

"You didn't have to do that." He said eventually after a pause which felt a century long. He looked quite uncomfortable, but his voice was soft and more genuine than Hermione had heard it in a long time. That however didn't stop her from getting annoyed.

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice." She snapped, and to her bewilderment he laughed. Draco bloody Malfoy threw back his head and laughed.

It was almost a musical sound; one Hermione didn't think she had ever heard before. Usually when he cracked a smile or chuckled it was at someone's expense, a nasty, snide and hollow noise. This was so different. It was human, deep and throaty. She was so surprised she forgot to be irritated.

"Classic Granger. Thanks, I suppose." He said, still smiling in a way which made Hermione's cheeks heat up despite her freezing cold body temperature.

The two of them stood like that for a few minutes more, Hermione trying to wrap her head around not only an apology but a thank you from Draco Malfoy in one night, and he apparently studying every faded freckle on her nose from the way he was staring.

"You shout quite a lot, you know that, right?" He eventually spoke, and Hermione's lips down-turned into a scowl.

"I tend to get a little… passionate I suppose." She muttered, toying with a frayed hem on the edge of her skirt so as to avoid looking at him.

"I didn't expect that to be a subject you would be so passionate about. Especially with how you think of me." He commented drily, and Hermione looked up at this and shot him a dirty look. She resented being constantly accused of prejudice towards a person who held nothing but contempt for her.

"And what about how _you_ think of me?" She snapped. "I heard about what you'd been saying to Theo after the… incident. Suppose once you'd snogged me it was easy to revert back to 'she's a filthy mudblood' rather than to actually just admit you made a mistake and apologise."

After this little outburst Hermione felt even more flushed and embarrassed than before. It was the first time either of them had even mentioned the fact that they'd kissed, and from the look on Draco's face he was just as shocked as she that it had been brought up.

His expression then shifted from one of surprise and discomfort to utter bewilderment, and it began to dawn on Hermione that maybe Theo had been exaggerating a little bit when he'd told her about Draco's behaviour towards her after they kissed. She hadn't thought twice about it at the time, it made sense in the moment that that would be Malfoy's reaction, but she realised in that moment that it had been years since she'd heard him even mutter the word 'mudblood'.

"You are so quick to believe the worst of me, aren't you Granger?" He muttered, and Hermione felt her heart sink in her chest as she noted the tone of genuine disappointment in his voice. "I never said anything of the sort. I haven't thought about blood prejudice in years, and though I shouldn't have to justify myself to _you_ , I never truly believed it."

Draco's voice became more aggressive as he spoke, more frustrated as he simultaneously tried to defend himself and explain that he was a changed man and maintain his pride.

"It was interesting to me what happened tonight," He continued, and Hermione really wished he would just stop talking. The raw emotion in his voice and his bright eyes was almost too much for her to bear. "I was very willing to just sit back and take every insult and jibe that man wanted to hurl at me, Salazar knows I probably deserved it, but you stepped in. And why? I ask myself, why would she do that when she has spent the last four years hating me for something I did as a brainwashed child."

She flinched at the harshness in his words and backed away as he began to advance on her.

"So what, do you want me to forgive you? Do you want me to move on and act as though the things you did and said had no consequences?" She hissed, her eyes filling with tears despite her best efforts to keep her emotions in check.

His reaction was as unpredictable as he, and he turned away from her, running his hands through his hair before letting his face fall into them. His angry and confrontational stance of a few seconds before melted away as his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I don't know." He mumbled. "I don't know if I could allow you to."

Hermione felt frozen. Those nine words seemed to express so much more than what they meant, and for a single moment it felt as though she could see into the mind of the tortured soul Pansy had alluded to and she had seen for seconds at a time in the past few weeks. A man who was racked with constant guilt, whose conflicting and complex emotions confused him to no end. She thought about Lucius Malfoy and how simultaneously ashamed and proud Draco must feel about putting his own father away.

But as quick as it had come, it was gone. His shoulders relaxed and he shook his head as though to clear it of emotion. Sure enough, when he turned to face her once again he was expressionless.

"But I don't blame Theo for exaggerating how I speak of you," He said with a sigh and a half-arsed smirk. "He saw me stick my tongue down your throat, and I am an arsehole, it's understandable. Don't take it out on him or let it affect things between you."

Hermione didn't let herself think about the depth behind those words, the insinuations, (that Draco Malfoy wanted her to be happy, that Draco Malfoy actually cared about his friends and their desires over his own selfish grudges, that Draco Malfoy maybe wasn't such a child anymore) and just blurted the first thing that came into her mind.

"We broke up."

He blinked a few times and frowned slightly, leaving Hermione enough time to regret even mentioning her and Theo's relationship status. Why did she even want him to know? And why had he been the first person she'd told before even Pansy and Ginny?

"Oh, well that's unfortunate." He said slowly. "Was it because of…?"

"Oh no, nothing to do with you or what happened." Hermione lied, hoping that her vehemently shaking her head would cover up any betrayal in her expression of the falsehood. "It just wasn't right."

Draco chewed his lip thoughtfully and nodded, before giving Hermione a funny look as he noted how she was clutching her arms to her body. They had been outside in the cold October air for quite some time now, and she was shaking like a leaf in only a few layers.

Without speaking pulled the black jumper he was wearing over his red shirt off and handed it to her. "There you go, trust you to forget to wear a bloody jumper in October."

She opened her mouth to refuse, quite shocked at the kind gesture, but he shook his head and thrust it at her, now looking uncomfortable once again.

"Just bloody take it will you woman?" He folded his arms and waited until she pulled the too-big cashmere jumper over her head before putting her jacket back on on top. "There. Now we're even."

With that he turned on his heel and began walking off into the night, leaving Hermione speechless but no longer cold. The conversation had thrown her in so many different directions she was still reeling – Malfoy had an infuriating tendency to never fully address a matter when it was brought up, a prime example being her and Theo's break up which he had literally run away from before discussing properly.

It left her utterly confused over whether to be angry, irritated or sympathetic to what was going on – one moment he was insulting her, the next he had been bearing part of his soul. The many different threads of conversation and emotions he had shown in just a few minutes meant she wasn't sure how she felt.

She shook her head to herself and checked the time before heading off towards the nearest floo point. The man was truly an enigma. But there was one thing she had managed to decide from their confusing and dramatic conversation – her 'Fix Draco Malfoy (Pansy be Damned) Plan' could now begin – she finally understood a little bit of what he had been battling all these years.

Step one would have to begin as soon as possible, Hermione resolved as she marched towards the floo point, renewed determination and spirit coursing through her veins.

She had seen day after day how isolated and empty the man felt nearly all the time, and the resolution to this seemed blindingly obvious; Draco Malfoy was going to get his friends back, and she was going to help him do it.

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 **That was quite a long chapter! I hope you enjoyed it :D**

 **I think Hermione and her attitude to Draco is one of the biggest obstacles between them, so her seeing the way Gregory treated him was a way for Hermione to see how prejudice and grudges help nobody.**

 **Anyway, what do you think is happening with Pansy? Can Hermione succeed in not only meddling with Draco Malfoy's life (risky;)) but also keeping it from her best friends?!**

 **A few more clues next week! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks again for the lovely reviews :)**


	18. The Music Group

**Helloo! Sorry for the delay, been sooo busy recently! For that reason I didn't have time to do my usual third chapter edit - so please be kind if you notice any mistakes (but feel free to point them out! :'))**

 **Just realised I didn't really tell any of you but this is the next cycle of drama (as you probably figured out from the dramatic Draco/Hermione convo last update!) this time we get Hermione hatching some plans instead of Draco, and while you'd like to think she'd be more organised... well, we'll see!**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter! As always, thanks so much for every review - I love them! :)**

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"I just can't believe you don't tell me things anymore, I feel so out of the loop at the moment." Ginny frowned, bouncing her son up and down on her knee as she and Hermione gossiped at the back of Music with Mummy.

Hermione had suggested the muggle baby class as a way for Ginny to do some new activities with James and keep both of their brains active on boring Sundays, and Ginny had ordered Hermione come with her to settle her in with a bunch of muggles.

Though Hermione definitely had other things she wanted to be doing that Sunday, she could see the logic behind the request and didn't want to risk Ginny hexing any muggle mummies who looked at her oddly.

"Oh calm down, I only left it a few days." Hermione waved a hand, trying to excuse her lack of communication regarding her and Theo's break up. "Besides you know we normally discuss such matters with Pansy, and, well."

Pansy had been completely out of commission since Saturday evening when she had returned home in a huff and refused to leave her room (Hermione resented feeling like a mother to a hormonal teenager but that was really the best comparison). Ginny had informed her once she'd returned from her work meal that night that Pansy had not emerged from her bedroom, but that one of her exes had gone in.

"I didn't see which one Hermione, and besides you know she has bloody hundreds." Ginny had hissed as the pair of them had tried to earwig at Pansy's door. "He looked Italian?"

"How exactly does one _look_ Italian?" Hermione had groaned exasperatedly before agreeing with Ginny to return to the door with an extendable ear some time later.

"Yeah I have no clue what's going on with her but clearly we need to discuss it." Ginny mumbled, wincing as her son hit her in the side of the head with a tambourine. "One minute she's basically chaste and sober, the next she has at least four bottles of wine in her room and an ex-delivery service to her door."

Hermione frowned and nodded, still trying to puzzle out what could have possibly gotten Pansy so riled up and miserable. While there was a chance it could be something to do with her father, Hermione doubted this as Pansy's dark spells regarding that were usually characterised by apathy and unreachable emptiness. This was very different.

"Well anyway you and Pansy are making me feel like a shit friend to be quite honest." Ginny pouted as she passed James one of the percussion instruments lying on the floor that another child had just flung across the room. "I feel like I have no clue what's going on with either of you, you're both so bad at sharing. Of course, it doesn't help that Ron's been so mysterious recently too."

Hermione frowned again, partly at Ginny's intriguing comment but also as a child quite near them had started howling. She also thought it was a little rich for Ginny to be harping on about the lack of honesty between them when she'd hidden a pregnancy for nearly four months, but figured the wound was probably still a bit too fresh to bring that up.

"What do you mean mysterious? I spoke to him recently and he seems fine, we've actually been catching up a bit more."

"Well he's been quite elusive with me. I found out from Harry the other day that he's got a new girlfriend, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't even supposed to tell me that much." Ginny remarked bitterly, causing Hermione's mouth to open in shock. "Don't even bother giving me the third degree, that was all I got out of him." Ginny added before Hermione could pelt her with questions.

"He's coming in a few minutes by the way, so you don't have to stay for the whole thing." Ginny said with a reassuring smile as yet another child in the class began to scream. "Maybe you'll be able to get something out of him."

Hermione shot her a grateful look but continued to be a good sport and helped James shake his maraca. Being the only single, childless woman in a mums and toddlers group was really quite depressing, it turned out.

"I was thinking of going home and trying to get something out of Pansy... But I could needle Harry a little bit first." She mused and Ginny nodded encouragingly.

"I'm not sure how to get to Harry when he's like this, but Pansy's easy - buy ice cream, that's a sure-fire way to tempt her out of her room and get her to speak. Then remember to phone me later and tell me anything she says."

Ginny had taken quite well to the Wizarding world's adoption of mobile phones, it helped that, like Pansy, she had always been quick to hop on new trends and be ahead of the crowd in terms of new things. She now had a blackberry and was obsessed with the tiny keys and instant messaging.

"Sure thing." Hermione replied, grinning at the sight of an alarmed Harry Potter in the doorway of the classroom.

"Hey Hermione," The messy haired man greeted his best friend with a hug and then bent down to kiss his wife. "This looks like pure hell."

Hermione chuckled and Ginny nodded solemnly.

"No offence Hermione but this will be the last one we take him to, I'm sure James can throw instruments at people at home just as well as he can here." Ginny said with a cheeky smile and Hermione shrugged.

"Having been here and witnessed the class myself I think even I can admit I misjudged the usefulness of it." She said with a wink, before turning to face the man who apparently held all of Ron Weasley's secrets. "What's this I hear about Ron and a new girlfriend?"

Harry blushed and gave Ginny a withering look, who didn't even pretend to look ashamed. She had no qualms about telling her best friend everything.

"It's not his girlfriend, Ginny's exaggerating. I told her he'd been busy with a woman one evening and so he couldn't come around for tea." He mumbled, doing very little to sate Hermione's curiosity. "Besides what goes on between him and Penel"

He froze mid-sentence, aware of his blunder before he even finished saying the woman's name – but it was enough for his wife and best friend.

" _Penelope Clearwater_?! Are you fucking joking?" Ginny exclaimed, earning several dirty looks from the yummy mummies around her who definitely didn't appreciate the swearing.

Hermione too was outraged. She'd seen that Penelope was not only superficial and greedy, but actually quite intelligent and dangerously manipulative. It made no sense for Ron to involve himself with the likes of her, she only hoped she hadn't managed to fool him with her charms.

"How far gone is the relationship?" Hermione asked anxiously, causing Harry to roll his eyes and groan.

"There is no… relationship alright?! It was a one-night stand, as far as I know he was pretty damn drunk. Do you really think Ron's stupid enough to get involved with Penelope Clearwater after the way he's seen her behave?"

Ginny and Hermione both looked suitably ashamed. It was true that they had both (incorrectly it seemed) assumed that Ron had been duped by a pretty girl with a large chest, it was embarrassing that they'd thought of him in such a way.

"He didn't want anyone to know about it because he's embarrassed alright? I was trying to do my friend a favour, he seemed really cut up about it actually." Harry hissed, aware that almost half the class was trying to figure out why the three of them were all but shouting in a mums and toddlers group.

"I can guess why, she's a right cow." Ginny said quietly, giving Harry an apologetic look for hounding him so much for information.

"We can trust Ron." Harry said firmly. "If someone important comes into his life, we'll be the first to know about it. He's family to all of us."

Hermione too felt quite guilty for her behaviour and nodded in agreement at Harry's words. It was wrong of her to jump to conclusions regarding Ron, he may be trusting and sometimes a little gullible, but that didn't make him a blithering moron.

She slowly got to her feet and picked up her coat, giving Harry an awkward hug goodbye and kissing Ginny and then little James on the cheek before heading for the door.

The baby music group had been rather more intense than she had expected, not only in conversation but also in volume, and she was quite glad to be leaving. Hermione opened the door to the classroom and tugged on her coat, looking out at the terrible weather as she embarked on her walk home.

Although she had caught Ginny up on what had happened between her and Theo that Friday, she hadn't mentioned much about her dinner with Malfoy and the defence team. Other than saying it had gone 'ok', she had avoided talking too much about it as she was sure Ginny would react quite smugly if she spoke about her strange thoughts about Draco.

Ginny had been the one to suggest that Draco was attractive and similar to Hermione in enough ways that they could quite happily embark on _some_ type of relationship, and she didn't want the redhead to think she was actually starting to like Malfoy or get along with him – she just felt bad for the man and wanted to help him out of a slump. Besides, there was no denying he was an intriguing person. Hermione was beginning to realise that the snide, quick tongued and wittily annoying Malfoy was just one side of his personality, she was almost… eager to unearth the parts of himself he had started to reveal to her the previous night.

Hermione thought about her forming plan as she began the walk back to her apartment, her hood pulled up to avoid the rain. The idea, which had seemed so simple when it had first come to her the previous evening, to reunite Malfoy with his friends was actually one that demanded a lot of attention.

She was already questioning how she could even begin to mend the bridge between him and Theo and had decided that task needed to be relegated for now. Instead she was focused on Daphne, Blaise and Pansy – the three who didn't have such a reason to dislike Draco.

Daphne and Blaise would probably be easy. If she couldn't convince Malfoy to join them for lunch (this was an integral part of her plan, and one she wasn't sure she could accomplish) then she would just start taking her lunch in Ron or Harry's office, giving Draco an opportunity to reconnect with his friends.

Pansy usually would have been quite easy to talk into accepting Draco Malfoy back into the group, and on a good day may have even helped Hermione with the plan. But there were currently two issues to contend with regarding Pansy Parkinson; the fact that she suspected there was something going on between Hermione and Malfoy and her terrible and confusing mood.

Hermione opened the door to their apartment a little apprehensively, hoping that there was nothing too intense going on on the other side.

Sure, enough when she walked in her flatmate was in the midst of a heated argument with an attractive looking olive-skinned man wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

"So, I comfort you all night after coming out here at God knows what time," He was shouting, and Hermione noted with a nod of approval to Ginny that he did indeed have an Italian accent. "And this is the thanks I get?!"

"I don't owe you jack shit Antonio." Pansy screeched, picking up a cushion off the sofa and hurling it at his half naked frame. "You didn't have to come here. I wouldn't have cared if you didn't."

"Bullshit!" The man, Antonio apparently, yelled back.

Hermione did actually vaguely remember this ex-boyfriend from a few years back. He had been hopelessly in love with Pansy but at the time she had been going through some difficult matters concerning her father who kept sending her threatening letters from his cell as his date for the dementor's kiss came up. Antonio had been quite useless with the emotional trauma his girlfriend was going through, and besides, Pansy wasn't one for the long term, it was destined to end nastily.

"I know you Pansy, you can't cope by yourself. Not when you're like this." He spat, the venom in his voice made it clear to Hermione that he thought the emotional booty call would have led to their relationship rekindling even after such a long time apart.

"You don't know anything about me!" Pansy screamed, her voice so high pitched and aggressive that Hermione was surprised the glass doors in their cabinets didn't shatter. She was getting hysterical and the brunette was trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation. "I told you before and I'm telling you now – get the fuck out. I called you because I needed a friend, not some disappointing sex."

This was news to Hermione, who blinked a few times in confusion at the implication of Pansy's words. She barely had any time to react however, as the last sentence Pansy had uttered was clearly too much for her ex-lover.

In three long strides he crossed the living room and grabbed hold of Pansy by the throat. Before he could move another muscle, however, Hermione reacted.

The war had taken many things from Hermione Granger. Fred, Dobby, Tonks and Remus to name a few, and she was certain her and her parents would trust each other in the same way again. But one of the things it had left her with she appreciated was lightning fast reflexes.

In seconds Antonio was sprawled on his back in the middle of their living room carpet, and at that moment Pansy seemed to register Hermione's presence for the first time.

Hermione, however, was not looking at her best friend. She marched over to the man's collapsed form and stood over him, pointing her wand directly at his Adam's apple and staring down at him with contempt.

"While I thought when I walked in that nothing could disgust me more than the sight of you in only your underwear, it appears I was mistaken." She spat, her anger and protectiveness spilling out in her voice, making it sound dangerous and forceful.

The man beneath her shivered and looked away, unable to meet her fiery gaze.

"I'm sorry I overreacted." He mumbled, gulping as Hermione drove the point of her wand into his skin.

"You will get out of my flat and you will never return. You will never try to contact Pansy again, in fact if you so much as _breath_ near her I will call in a favour with a few aurors I know quite well, and you won't ever see the light of day again, do I make myself clear?" She hissed, emphasising the last few words with a jab of her wand.

Antonio nodded shakily, and as soon as Hermione pulled away her wand he scrambled to his feet and headed to the door. He paused as he grabbed the door handle and seemed to remember what he was wearing, but Hermione was ready for that.

"You should have thought about your clothes before you took them off." She smirked nastily, folding her arms to make her stance clear. "I told you to leave so leave. Hope it's not too cold."

Looking defeated and still slightly afraid (Hermione Granger was a known war hero after all), Antonio nodded and scrambled out of their apartment and into the rain.

Once he was gone and Hermione flicked her wrist, locking the door behind him, she turned her attention to the only other person in the room.

Pansy Parkinson was staring at her defiantly, as though she dared Hermione to turn the same attitude she had just shown to her best friend.

"I had that under control." Pansy snapped, eventually breaking the silence and staring competition between the two of them, looking away from Hermione's questioning glare.

Hermione groaned inwardly at the stubborn response of her flatmate. She should have known Pansy wouldn't hug and talk things out.

"Fine, I won't even argue with you about that if you just tell me what the ever-loving fuck is going on." Hermione said sternly. She was still quite angry after seeing the way Antonio had behaved in her own home but tried to soften her voice slightly in the hopes that Pansy would respond to her request.

Pansy's shoulders slumped, and her bottom lip began to quiver as the tough exterior she had previously been displaying crumbled. For a moment Hermione was sure this was it, she was going to tell her what had happened the previous day to put her in such a state. But she was wrong.

"I can't." Came Pansy's quiet and simple reply. "I just can't talk about it. Not with you."

Hermione's heart sank at those words, and she tried desperately to hide the pain in her expression. Never, in nearly four years of friendship had Pansy ever said Hermione couldn't know something about her. Part of the reason they had grown so close and gotten to know each other so quickly was that nothing was off limits – Hermione knew things about Pansy that had nearly broken the girl, things no one else would ever know, and visa versa. It pained Hermione massively that something had changed between them, that Pansy felt now she couldn't share herself completely with her best friend.

"Ok." Hermione said quietly, trying to think of the best thing to say next. She wanted to cry, she wanted to beg Pansy to tell her what was going on and ask her why on earth she couldn't just talk to her about it, but she also knew that that wouldn't be helpful in this situation. "I'll ask one more question," She decided eventually. "Is this about Draco and me and the mistake a few weeks ago?"

Pansy's eyes widened in genuine surprise and she shook her head vehemently.

"No of course not Hermione, it doesn't matter to me that you kissed him. Just because we dated once a long time ago doesn't mean I care about that sort of stuff, we weren't right, you know that."

Hermione nodded slowly, still unsure of how to proceed. It felt as though the dynamic between them had changed. Usually when one of them had a problem they would just talk about it, there wasn't normally any secrecy between them of any kind.

"What happened with you and Antonio? Did you guys actually not have sex?" She asked carefully, hoping this wasn't too sore of a subject as well.

To her relief Pansy's shoulders relaxed and she took a seat on one of their sofas, her demeanour much less stressed and closed off than moments before.

"Yeah, we didn't do anything, I meant it when I said that wasn't why I called him over – I just wanted someone to talk to." Hermione felt a lump in her throat at that, but nodded at Pansy, encouraging her to go on. "He didn't hurt me or anything, you got here in time for that." Pansy shot her an awkward smile and Hermione supposed that was all the thanks she was going to get. Not that she minded, what else were friends for after all?

"So last night you…" Hermione asked, still confused as to what had exactly happened after she'd left for the evening.

"I called him over and we drank wine and talked, that was it really." Pansy replied with a sigh. "Fell asleep and woke up at around eleven to him in his boxers leaning over me. You saw most of the rest."

Hermione nodded and checked her watch, surprised to see that it was only just nearing twelve – she'd forgotten how early it had been when she'd woken up and gone to meet Ginny.

That still left her almost an entire day to focus on the problems before her, and her brain seemed to jump into action at the thought.

Whatever was going on with Pansy was clearly a priority, meaning that operation 'Fix Draco Malfoy' would have to take a back seat, Hermione theorised.

However, the wording Pansy had used earlier when she'd said she couldn't discuss her problems with Hermione (or apparently Ginny considering how she'd steadily ignored her other best friend for the past twenty four hours or so) and how she'd been desperate enough to call over one of her intolerable exes caused Hermione to think about another one of her intolerable exes.

Hermione's mind went into overdrive as she chewed her lip and thought about how there was a possibility she would be able to kill two birds with one stone, provided everything fell into place and she didn't just cause more trouble than she was already dealing with – it was certainly a risky plan.

The more she thought about her forming plan however, the more she realised it just might work. Hermione jumped to her feet and muttered something about 'work stuff' when Pansy asked her where she was going, she probably needed to just do this before she convinced herself it was a terrible idea.

Hermione grabbed her coat off the back of the sofa and reached for her purse, noting that she would have to floo from a different fireplace if she wanted to maintain the element of surprise with Pansy still in the room.

After all, it would be a bit suspicious if she strolled up to her own fireplace and said the words; 'Malfoy Manor'.

 **So a few things hinted at in this one! ;)**

 **What is Hermione planning to do?**

 **WHAT is going on with Pansy?!**

 **Will Hermione's plan work or will she mess it up as she seems to be being a little spontaneous... very risky ;)**

 **That's all for this week! Please leave a review maybe with some theories, love reading them, also side note - I love constructive criticism, but things like 'I don't like your Hermione' aren't really constructive ahahhaa, we're 18 chapters deep now folks, if you don't like my Hermione it might be time to read a different fic ;) Anyway just a little comment, don't let it put you off giving me improvements! :) love ya x**


	19. The Unexpected Visitor

**Hello all! So unfortunately before this chapter I've got to tell you guys that this will probably be my last update for a little while, I have uni exams coming up really soon and so I need to focus and get revising. I like to dedicate as much time as I can to these chapters and ensuring their quality, and even now I'm feeling the pressure! So I'd much rather focus on my studies and then launch back into this once I'm done :)**

 **With that said, thank you as always for all of your lovely reviews and comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D**

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Narcissa Malfoy was a woman well known for her calm and unreactive personality, but even the ice queen herself couldn't help but blink in surprise when Hermione Granger tumbled out of her drawing room fireplace in a decidedly graceless manner.

The young witch jumped up to her feet, releasing a small cloud of soot as she did so which caused the Malfoy matriarch to wrinkle her nose in distaste. She had just been about to call for afternoon tea and continue to enjoy her Sunday, she certainly hadn't expected one of the golden trio to make an unannounced visit.

"May I ask why it is you have stumbled into my abode?" She asked crisply, arching an eyebrow in a way which caused Hermione to shiver. People had always identified the similarities between Draco and Lucius Malfoy, but the cold and calculating stare Narcissa was giving her at that moment definitely read Draco.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't actually expecting to be able to get in." Hermione said a little awkwardly, still reeling at the lack of wards on the Malfoy home. Almost every wizard and witch she knew had some type of protection on their home in order to prevent anyone and everyone entering their living room, and the Malfoys certainly didn't seem the type to welcome unexpected house guests.

"Yes well, you tend to lose privileges such as wards when you're tried in the Wizengamot for crimes against humanity." The older woman replied tersely, and Hermione blushed at the response she hadn't anticipated which made her look a bit of a fool.

She brushed away the irritation which automatically arose in her social justice minded-brain when she learned that the Malfoys were not afforded any type of protection or privacy in their own home (especially considering the number of radicals who wanted anyone tied to former death eaters dead and buried) and returned to the task at hand. That would be something she could bring up later to Kingsley perhaps.

Hermione straightened her back and brushed down her crumpled blouse, hoping she didn't look too much of a state in front of such a regal woman. She was also finding it quite hard to focus as the gravity of the situation she had hastily put herself in was beginning to dawn on her. She was in Malfoy manor. A place she hadn't visited for many years, but which was almost permanently on her mind. She noted that although Narcissa had called the room they were standing in the dreaded drawing room, she didn't recognise it, and supposed that _that_ wing of the manor might have been retired.

The room she was currently standing in was quite a good deal brighter than what she remembered seeing of the manor before. It was painted a light grey, and the furnishings were warm red and pale wood. Hermione could see the trimmings of what the room had been before, a hint of black marble on the fireplace and a seam of silver trim around a mirror, but other wise it was clear the occupant had done a good and thorough job of redecorating and removing the dark and gaudy decor. The most significant change was the absence of the thick heavy black velvet drapes, one of the only things she could remember clearly from the time she had spent in the dreaded halls. The floor to ceiling windows let in a great deal of light even on the drizzly October day, and Hermione noted with surprise that the gardens outside were preened and pruned to perfection.

"I'm here on… business." She found herself at a loss of what to say. Although she of course knew Narcissa still lived in Malfoy manor, for some reason she had not anticipated her presence and had only thought about how she would approach Draco.

"Is this about my son?" The woman asked as though she could read Hermione's mind, and the other witch nodded. "Well you had better sit down. I will call for some tea."

Hermione barely had time to respond before the elegant woman was gliding out of the room, no doubt to speak to a house elf. When she left Hermione felt her façade beginning to decay and had to clench her fists to stop her hands from trembling. She was beginning to feel as though this spur of the moment trip had been a terrible idea.

On a daily basis she refused point blank to allow herself to think about the war, not anymore. She had spent too much time wallowing in the guilt and anxiety after it had happened – though of course her friends had helped a great deal in that time. The night was harder to control however, and Hermione had found herself on many occasions revisiting the place she was now physically stood inside and the day she would never forget. She felt a phantom twinge in the long healed scar on her forearm. A day she _could_ never forget.

But she had come here knowing the risks and knowing the memories it could bring to the forefront of her mind. She had stubbornly decided that it would not affect her and so it was with the remnants of this resolve that Hermione took a deep breath and managed an awkward smile as Narcissa re-entered the room, this time with a tea tray.

"I was expecting someone would come from the ministry to speak with me about Draco, and I find myself feeling glad it is you Miss Granger – you do not seem the type to hold grudges." Narcissa said in a much more cordial manner than she had before as she offered Hermione a seat.

The brunette was confused by the woman's words but decided to let her go on and explain herself before butting in to question her.

"He thinks I am so blind, that I don't notice when he struggles, but I am his mother. We know these things almost instinctively." Narcissa spoke in a strong and emotionless voice, but Hermione could almost sense the pain in her words. "Also, I had Mopsy spy on him before he forbid her from entering his house."

Hermione couldn't help but crack a smile at that comment but was left feeling more bemused than before by Narcissa's comments.

"I'm sorry, his house? I was under the impression that Draco lived here?" She asked as politely as she could, unsure of how to present herself to a member of wizarding high society and not make a social blunder.

Narcissa did not seem to mind, and in fact gave Hermione a quizzical look of her own.

"No, he moved away quite some time ago, the memories in these walls were too painful for him and so it seemed the best decision. Do I take it that means you were actually here to speak with him?"

Hermione nodded and Narcissa seemed to relax slightly in her seat.

"I must confess that's quite a relief to hear Miss Granger, I thought you were here to ask me about his whereabouts – I knew he wasn't going in to the ministry and I was quite sure he was in hot water."

Hermione felt suddenly sorry for the woman in front of her, as it was clear that Draco had not seen or spoken to his mother for quite a while and she was very concerned for his wellbeing. In light of this (and partly because she was a little bit terrified of the woman) Hermione decided to be as honest as she could.

"Yes, he missed quite a few days at work, but he was back on Friday so as far as I know he has incurred no penalties at the ministry. I was actually a little concerned about him myself Ms Malfoy, Draco has not seemed himself recently – not that I pretend to know him in any way," She spluttered a little, doubling back on her words after she realised how intimate they sounded. To her surprise Narcissa smirked at her fumble but did not address it.

"Well I am glad to hear he has returned to work at any rate and thank you for being honest about his current state Miss Granger, I too had a feeling thing were going wrong for him again." Narcissa paused before reaching towards the small cabinet beside her arm chair and pulling out a scrap of parchment and a quill. "I won't ask why you wish to see him if it is… business related." The pause between the two phrases suggested Narcissa didn't really believe Hermione that it was. "But I will direct you towards him."

Hermione looked down at the piece of parchment the other woman passed to her and was surprised to see an address neatly printed on the paper. Draco's address.

"Th-thank you Ms Malfoy." Hermione spluttered, still quite in shock at the entire excursion. "I'm sorry that I bothered you in your home."

Narcissa gave her a curious look that lasted a little too long for Hermione's liking before she finally responded.

"I know we spoke about this at Draco's trial, but I want to reiterate how terribly I feel about what happened to you here, Hermione."

Hermione wasn't sure where the bulk of her shock originated from – the fact that Narcissa Malfoy had used her given name for possibly the first time ever, or the subject their conversation had suddenly turned too. She felt her palms grow sweaty at the mere mention of it, the dam in her mind threatening to break as someone else actually brought up what had happened for the first time in years.

It had been awkward enough at the trial, when the two of them had come across each other in the halls of the ministry after Hermione had watched Draco's gut wrenching testimony, the older witch had cornered her and apologised with tears in her eyes before hurrying away. Hermione had partly thought at the time Narcissa's apology had been because she feared her family would be locked away without the empathy of high profile individuals such as herself, but the cynical, hypocritical Hermione had eroded over the years. She now saw when she looked at Narcissa Malfoy, a woman who had blindly followed the man she loved in the hopes of a good life for her and her only son only to find herself in the ranks of a dangerous madman.

"I want you to understand that I do and always have thought very highly of you." The witch continued, and Hermione managed a tense smile although she was putting a lot of energy into stopping herself from trembling. Narcissa's head seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, like she was staring at an expanding balloon. She wondered dimly if she was having a panic attack. "I am grateful that you and Draco have crossed paths again, I see how you have become so close with Pansy and I can only admire your heart and loyalty."

Hermione felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, partly at the kind and unexpected words but also because she could feel her well kept emotions threatening to break through. It was easy to deny things, things such as trauma, when no one ever brought any attention to them. She Harry and Ron had done their crying, and besides, Hermione did not want anyone to ever perceive her as weak, so it was just easier to pretend the things that had happened to her during the war weren't real. She couldn't remember the last time someone had brought up Malfoy manor, and didn't want to remember the last time she had actually been there. It was getting to be too much.

Hermione leapt to her feet and extended a slightly trembling hand to Narcissa Malfoy, who did not look confused or offended, but simply sad. The brunette supposed she understood quite well, perhaps better than most, what was going on in her mind at that moment.

"Thank you so much for the tea Ms Malfoy, and again sorry for calling on you so unexpectedly."

The woman took Hermione's hand in hers gently and offered her a small smile, one of the first Hermione thought she had ever seen from Draco Malfoy's mother.

"Will you tell Draco to come and see me soon? That boy is incorrigible."

Hermione nodded and managed to make it back over to the fireplace on her wobbly limbs. She felt as though the walls were closing in on her, and knew it was important she get out of there before the defences she had so carefully built inside her mind came crashing down.

"I will."

* * *

Draco Malfoy was enjoying a coffee (he was going sober, for the moment anyway) and musing over a book in his study when a clatter from the living room put him on high alert.

While he knew it was most likely Blaise wanting to borrow something or Daphne coming to him with gossip he didn't want to hear, there was always a part of him that feared the worst. That someone who wanted him out of the wizarding world would come tumbling out of his fireplace and he'd be at their mercy.

It was with this in mind that he slowly put his book down on the coffee table and raised his wand, slipping off his shoes as he crept out of the study and down the hallway towards the living room. He at least wanted the element of surprise on his side.

He had just rounded the corner and was about to fling the door to his living room open when someone beat him to it, and he was hit in the face with then unforgiving wood, leaving him almost completely disarmed and definitely shocked.

"What the fuck!" Draco yelled, clutching his throbbing head as he stumbled backwards, still trying desperately to keep his wand trained on the small, fuzzy haired person before him. Then it clicked. "… _Granger_?!"

Hermione wasn't really sure what to do. She was still feeling quite ill and shaky from her conversation with Mrs Malfoy in that dreaded place, and now she had tumbled into the younger Malfoy's home and accidentally blinded him with his living room door. It was a lot to think about.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing in my house?! And why did you hit me with the bloody door?" Luckily Malfoy was more than willing to do the talking for her. Hermione was broken from her reverie and jumped into action, rushing over to the man who's home she had just invaded and was now clutching the left side of his face just beneath his eye.

"I'm terribly sorry Malfoy, I'll explain my unexpected visit in a moment, will you just let me take a look at your eye?" She spluttered, leaning in and raising her wand in case there was some damage she needed to heal.

"Get that thing out of my face," Malfoy spat, knocking her wand to the side and flinching. Hermione wondered briefly if he was scared, and strangely found herself hoping he knew that she wouldn't hurt him. Not intentionally anyway.

"Don't be a baby and let me have a look, there's no way you can heal anything right now, you're still reeling from the shock." She snapped, trying to hold her own even though her hands were shaking a little as she raised her wand once again. It was strange being this close to him.

Draco slowly lowered his hand from his face and awkwardly averted his gaze. Hermione's face was inches from his, her wide amber eyes alight with curiosity and concern. He noted that the rims of her eyelids were slightly red, and so was the tip of her nose, but didn't bother mentioning it. He doubted he was in a better state.

"Hold still." Hermione said in a voice barely above a whisper. Her breath was coming in nervous, sharp bursts, and Draco could smell the mint and the strawberries. A scent that was undeniably Granger. He blushed despite himself when he realised these thoughts were the dangerous ones he had managed to shut off for the last few weeks with moderate success. _Damn_ her for being in such close proximity, he was certain he'd forgotten all about the things which had once drawn him to her, now it felt as though they were worming their way back into his brain.

Hermione surveyed the angry red mark running along the side of Draco's face, just beside his eye. It was lucky the old wood hadn't splintered, or they might be dealing with something much worse. As far as she could tell, he would just be bruised and possibly have a few scratches. Still, Hermione felt somewhat responsible for the injuries (however mild) and decided to heal them anyway.

She raised her wand and pressed her fingertips lightly against his cheek. This she told herself was in order to hold him steady, but part of her had just wanted to touch the smooth porcelain skin and the harsh red mark beside it. He hissed and she mumbled an apology, re-focussing herself on the task at hand. Once she was done Hermione removed her hand from the side of his face and turned his chin to face her.

She felt that irritating blush creeping on her cheeks as she surveyed her work, and noted how Draco's silver-grey eyes were looking anywhere but her own. She couldn't help but think about how every time they had been this close in the past, one of them had kissed the other. But before she could articulate this thought or even open her mouth, Draco had jumped to his feet, knocking her away slightly.

She gave a small sigh before mirroring his actions, hoping he hadn't thought her behaviour too strange. No matter what Ginny said, Hermione thought, there was clearly nothing between them. He had made that quite obvious now - though of course it wasn't like she cared.

"So, now that you've assaulted me in my own home I think it's time you explain why you're here." Draco said stiffly, crossing his arms over his chest and levelling his gaze at her for the first time since she'd arrived. Hermione awkwardly tried to regain her composure, her visit with Narcissa had left her feeling quite shaken - as had accidentally attacking Draco Malfoy with his own door.

"Yes, well. I need to tell you first of all that your mother misses you a lot and wants you to call on her some time soon." Hermione had intended on this being a brief comment that would preface her proposal, but was hastily interrupted.

" _When_ did you speak to my mother?!" Malfoy asked incredulously, and Hermione shrugged a little awkwardly.

"I was under the impression that you still lived at the manor, so I went there first in order to speak to you, your mother and I had tea."

At that moment Draco Malfoy looked as though his unexpected house guest had just turned into a unicorn before his very eyes, and Hermione couldn't help but smirk a little at his expression of utter shock.

"You had tea with my mother? At the _manor_? Why would you possibly set foot in that place Granger, after what happened there," Though he had begun his sentence angry and passionate, he stopped as though someone had clamped his vocal chords together. Hermione looked at him curiously, and couldn't help but wonder what his true feelings were on what had happened in the manor that day.

He had mentioned it while they had talked outside the restaurant the previous evening, and she had been shocked when he had insinuated he could never be forgiven for what had happened then. As it happened, that event was something Hermione actually wasn't angry with Draco Malfoy for being involved in. Of course she hadn't been happy to see him or anything, but she hadn't forgotten how he had tried to misidentify them all through their terrible disguises, and she had known even when she still hated the man that there was nothing he could have done. And yet here he was, years later, the two of them still bickering like they had done all through school and yet he couldn't forgive himself for something he had had no real part in. He never ceased to confuse her.

Hermione decided not to dwell on the matter any longer, especially as she was sure the weariness and tension in her eyes would give her away. It hadn't been easy to go to the manor earlier that day. In fact, it was a decision she was quite sure would haunt her for some time now, but it had been necessary.

"Yes, well." She said eventually, breaking the thick and heavy silence which had enveloped the two of them. "I didn't see any other alternative."

There was a long pause before he spoke again, so long that Hermione was almost sure he had decided to just ignore her until she went away. His eyes looked unfocused, as though he were thinking about something difficult incredibly hard.

"What could possibly have been so important that you went back to that place?" He asked eventually, and the hollowness in his voice led Hermione to realise that what Narcissa had alluded to earlier was absolutely true. It seemed she wasn't alone in being haunted by Malfoy Manor.

"It's Pansy." She said simply, and Draco's eyes widened in understanding. Of course it was something to do with her friends that had led her to do something so idiotic. "I think you're the only one who can help."

What she didn't say was that she thought they could help each other, she didn't think that would go down well at all, but was pleased to see that Draco's reaction was not one of anger or outright rejection. She had suspected he cared about his friends.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked a little anxiously. As long as he had known her Pansy had been the strong one. He suspected she had had a rough time during and after her father's trial, but he had been in too much of a terrible state to notice or help if that was the case. Maybe now he could help her with something else. Return the favour for all the times she had dragged him out of his internal prisons.

"I don't know, that's the problem. She says she can't tell me." Hermione replied a little sadly, "But I think she would talk to you. It feels like she's dying to speak to someone about this, but I think Ginny and I are too close to whatever's happening, you're her oldest friend."

Draco nodded slowly and chewed his lip in thought. Pansy had not shied away from telling him her deepest, darkest secrets before, especially when she had no one else to talk to.

"Well then Granger." He said, mind made up he reached for his jacket and relished in the surprised look in her eyes. He could be a decent person. Well, sometimes. "You've visited both of my properties in one afternoon, so now I think it's your turn to host."

* * *

Draco Malfoy was sat on the corner of Pansy's unmade bed with a glass of milk in one hand and a biscuit in the other. It seemed that Ginny Potter was rather good at making them, and Hermione had been happy to oblige with the milk.

Pansy was sat opposite him, though her back was currently all he could see. She was drinking wine slowly out of a filthy glass and staring out the window as she did so.

"Look Pansy, I've been here for twenty minutes now, and as much as I'm enjoying the baked goods I have a feeling your roommate will maim me if I don't come out there with results." He said drily, wondering if she would actually speak.

To his surprise Pansy moved for the first time since he'd been there (except to drink her wine) and placed the glass on the ground before lying back on the bed. He noted that her eyes were red rimmed and there were smudges of mascara that was clearly days old on her cheeks. All in all, she looked a state.

"I've fucked up Draco." She said, her voice was hoarse and quiet. He waited for her to carry on, and after a few more minutes of silence she did. "I haven't felt like this since, well since _you_ left to be quite honest."

He blinked in surprise, that he had not been expecting. It definitely was not like Pansy to worry about her love life, she had continuously enjoyed the benefits of being single and never had any self esteem issues, she was Pansy-fucking-Parkinson, why would she?

He thought about it for a few minutes longer, and then remembered what Hermione had said earlier about feeling like she and Ginny were too close to the situation to know what was actually going on. He placed his glass down on the floor and fell back against the mattress beside his childhood friend with a sigh.

"It's fucking Weasley isn't it?" There was no venom in his voice, just grim acceptance. Draco didn't expect an answer as he already knew that that was the case, it was blindingly obvious actually.

"How did you know?" Pansy asked quietly, and Draco looked over and shot her a smirk.

"Pretty clear Pans, since when do you not tell Granger and Ginny about things? Then you mentioned there was a bloke involved… unless you're sleeping with Potter which I think is highly unlikely,"

Pansy groaned and placed her hands over her eyes.

"You're the only other person apart from me and him who knows. How terrible is that?" Pansy hiccupped slightly and Draco realised she had started to cry once again. "Not only did I get fucked over by a freckled moron, but when it gets out everyone I care about is going to fucking hate me."

Draco winced as she ended the sentence with a slight wail, and was glad he'd decided to silence the room once he'd walked in. Didn't need Granger rushing in at a delicate moment, guns a blazing.

"Well Pansy I think we both know that's horseshit, Hermione would forgive anything of you. She would forgive anything of anyone." He said, his mind straying slightly as he finished the sentence. Wasn't that the truth.

"That's the problem, she doesn't deserve this shit. She's too good to be friends with someone like me." Pansy sniffed, and Draco rolled his eyes. He wondered dimly if he sounded this foolish and self-hating when he spoke about similar matters. He hoped not.

"I'm starting to think she doesn't deserve to put up with Ron Weasley if this is what he's done to you." He commented bitterly, and Pansy shook her head sadly.

"I don't know. I was angry with Ron, so angry. I actually set his post box on fire." Draco snorted. Classic Pansy. "But the longer I've had to think about it the more I've realised it was my fault. He kept asking me what we were, to define what was happening between us but I kept pushing him away. I should have realised I liked him for more than just sex. I should have told him that when I had the chance."

Draco wrinkled his nose and gagged, Pansy chuckled lightly which caused him to smile.

"Please, less of that. I can't be imagining you and the Weasel, it'll give me nightmares." He paused for a moment before tentatively asking the loaded question; "What exactly _did_ he do?"

"He fucked another woman, what do you _think_ he did?" Pansy hissed. "I went round on Saturday to see him for the evening and he told me about what had happened the night before. I just left."

"And I'm assuming you didn't tell him anything you just said to me? Any of your actual feelings?" Draco asked sarcastically, earning him a thump on the side of his head. He winced, it was still sore from when Hermione had attacked him with his living room door.

"No of course not you fucking idiot, I would have looked a fool." She spat angrily, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Or it could have resolved things between you. Even if you didn't actually… _get together_ ," He winced as he said those words, it was still so strange to think about. "You could at least resolve this tension between the two of you and explain why you got so upset. Think about his little brain, he's probably confused after the amount of times you denied feelings for him."

Pansy sighed and seemed to deflate, her anger evaporated as quickly as it had come.

"Of course you're right. But you also understand how fucking hard it is to talk about your feelings." Pansy pointed out, and Draco nodded. He couldn't deny that one, they were both terrible at it. "Speaking of feelings, I never actually spoke to you about your little tryst with Hermione Granger."

Draco groaned, it was now his turn to place his hands over his face. He should have guessed this would come up somehow.

"Yes, I suppose you're going to berate me now for meddling in Theo and Hermione's love life?"

Pansy looked over at him and smirked.

"No, they're wrong for each other, I think even they know that. But that doesn't mean you're the viable alternative." Draco opened his mouth to intercede, but Pansy carried on. "I don't care about this because I'm jealous Draco, to be honest I don't even care if you fuck. But Hermione Granger is the single best person I have ever met in my entire life. Whatever goes on between you, even if you end up just managing to be friends, if you hurt her in any way shape or form I _will_ torture you."

Draco was at a loss of what to say. On the one hand, he was telling himself Pansy's words didn't matter, they were over the top exuberance from one of Hermione's friends who had a strange idea that he was actually interested in pursuing her. But a small part of him felt crushed. Those irritating, pervasive thoughts that kept returning to him, memories of dark, hot encounters mingled with alcohol had sort of thought he might have a chance. A chance at _something_ \- even if it was just a good fuck. But of course, Pansy was right.

They lay there in silence for a few more minutes before Draco spoke once again, returning to their original topic of conversation.

"You need to tell her, you know. She's desperately worried about you." He paused, and took it upon himself to tell one of Hermione's little secrets in the hopes that it might persuade Pansy to speak to someone who could definitely help with her problems more than he could. "She went to the manor today."

At this Pansy reacted instantly, sitting bolt upright and wheeling round to face him. She was surprisingly spry considering the amount of wine she had evidently drunk.

" _What_? Malfoy Manor? Why the _fuck_ would she do that?!"

"Why do you think?" Draco asked calmly as he too sat up and finished the rest of his milk which was now lukewarm. "She was looking for me, moron. She didn't think you would speak to anyone else and she didn't know I'd moved so she went to find me to help you."

Pansy shot a nervous look towards the door and then looked back at Draco.

"Was she ok?" She asked quietly.

Draco thought back to the red rimmed honey coloured eyes he had stared into earlier that day, remembered the way Hermione had sniffed intermittently during their conversation, how her eyes had had that far-away quality he saw in his own each time he looked in the mirror.

"I don't think she was chipper, I'll put it that way." He mumbled, unsure of what to say. It wasn't like Pansy wanted to hear how he was staring into her best friends eyes and analysing her moods now.

Pansy nodded slowly, standing up and brushing her crumpled pyjamas off resolutely.

"You're right Draco." She said, "If that witch is stupid enough to go to the manor for me I can admit what's been going on to her. I'll spend the rest of my bloody life making it up to her if I have to."

He smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like days, and pulled his childhood friend into an awkward hug.

"Good. Make sure you tell her that part about me being right." He said, his grin becoming a smirk. "She'll hate that."

* * *

 **So the not so secret secret is out! Well done to all of you who cottoned on after the last few chapters, but extra kudos to Lun27 who said as early as chapter 4 or something crazy like that that there seemed to be sexual tension between Pansy and Ron? You were correct! :')**

 **Any guesses as to when they got together? Maybe some hints from previous chapters could help, plus it will give you something to do while I'm stuck revising ;)**

 **I really hope you enjoyed this chapter guys (and there weren't any mistakes, been lax on my editing with all the exams :/), as always reviews are appreciated and I read every single one! Love them all!**

 **Thanks for reading, hope you'll still be here when I update next :) xx**


	20. The Confession

**Hellooo! Is anyone still there?! I'm back!**

 **Finished exams, finished a year of uni and am back to writing again, sorry for the delay folks :)**

 **I'm getting back in the swing of things writing this and have re-found the flow I was enjoying before, sorry for the long break, just really wanted to focus on my revision.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter, getting to the point now where Draco and Hermione are building up a bit more of a rapport - not just squabbling ;)**

* * *

"What did she say?!" Hermione asked anxiously the moment Pansy's bedroom door had closed and Draco had passed over the glass he had been using. The tall blonde shrugged.

"That's certainly for me to know and you to attempt to find out Granger." He pointed out, respecting Pansy's privacy firmly before he decided to irritate her. "But it is _really_ good, I mean really interesting stuff."

Hermione rolled her eyes at his devilish smirk and turned her back to him, furiously scrubbing at the baking implements she'd just dunked into hot soapy water. She had of course been expecting a response along those lines but had _hoped_ for a little more cooperativity.

"Alright fine, I'll ask her myself in a little while," Maybe with a plate of brownies, Hermione added internally, knowing very well that despite Pansy's fantastic figure and her usually excellent diet, she also had a penchant for sweet treats. "Thanks for your help."

It was very clearly a dismissal, Draco and Hermione both knew it, but for some reason Malfoy felt something holding him back. It was inconceivable to him that Hermione had decided to show up at bloody Malfoy Manor, with no idea of who or what would be waiting for her, just to try and cheer up Pansy Parkinson. He knew what had happened to her there. Had witnessed it with his own eyes and dreamt about the screams for months following until he refused to sleep without liquor or draughts – the only things that kept the guilt from wracking him.

Her venture earlier that day was causing him to feel even more ill at the thought of the way he had teased her in school, the way he had thought of her for so many years as a show off with very little common sense. It seemed, he was now beginning to realise, that Hermione Granger was actually immensely brave. Someone who would do quite literally anything for the people she loved. Maybe he had always known this, and like with the boy who lived, was jealous of how she acted and the morals that so surpassed his own.

He stood in silence, mulling this over for a few minutes while Hermione awkwardly continued with the washing up. She wasn't too sure why he was still hanging around, it was starting to make her uncomfortable. Eventually it was he who broke the silence.

"Let me give you my address." He said awkwardly, and when Hermione spun around to face him in confusion a light blush crept to his cheeks. She didn't think she'd ever seen Draco Malfoy blush. "We're going to be working together so it makes sense that you have my details in case you need to floo or owl me." He hastily added, reaching for a pen and paper on the counter top.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, she had initially been shocked at the suggestion, but once Draco had elaborated it of course made perfect sense, they were going to be partners for basically the rest of their working year, it would probably be easier if she could contact him directly instead of bothering his mother.

"Add your mobile as well, it's quicker than sending an owl." She pointed out as he scribbled down the details of his home address.

Draco held back a wince as he thought of the strange, plastic block that was currently on his bedside table at home. He wasn't going to admit to her that he had no idea how to use it and was in that moment intensely glad he had taken it upon himself to memorise the digits of his phone number.

He finished writing those down and slid the notepad awkwardly across to Hermione, who was giving him an unscrupulous look. It annoyed Draco to no end that the woman in front of him was insanely difficult to read. Unless she was literally crying or jumping for joy (which she was known to do on occasion), he found it hard to interpret what she was thinking, a skill he usually prided himself on. Though he hadn't practised legilimensy in years and so was no longer skilled, a hangover from that knowledge was an ability to read people's expressions and body language very well (even if he couldn't actually probe their minds). This talent did not apply with Hermione Granger.

"Don't bother visiting the manor again." He commented brusquely, standing to attention and reaching for the jacket he had carefully laid over one of their bar stools before going to speak to Pansy. He sincerely hoped that his parting remark sounded more teasing than concerned, though he couldn't deny that _that_ was what he had felt when he'd seen her emerge from the fireplace with tears in her eyes and her skin unnaturally pallid. Concern. Godric the witch was ruining him.

Hermione nodded, her brow still furrowed as she tried in vain to interpret their brief conversation. Before she could say anything in return however, he had disappeared with a sharp crack from the centre of their living room, leaving nothing but a faint scent of expensive aftershave and mint in the air.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything… sensitive." A cheery voice said from the hallway, and Hermione turned to see that Pansy's door had opened some time during her and Draco's chat, and the witch was stood giving her a tentative grin.

She looked run down, there were dark circles surrounding her eyes, which were red from crying. Her hair was nothing short of a bird's nest, but at least she was out of bed.

Hermione chose not to comment on Pansy's rough appearance, and instead popped the kettle on and reached for her flat mate's favourite coffee mug.

"You know that you weren't, eavesdropper." She retorted with a wink, not able to keep from smiling as Pansy entered the room and took a seat at the counter, something she hadn't done in days.

"Yeah you got me, all I heard was you pestering my house guest." Pansy said with a grin, gratefully accepting the mug of steaming black coffee Hermione passed to her. "He did actually convince me you know, I'm going to tell you why I've been acting like a crazed bitch."

"Just a little more than normal." Hermione said with a shrug, a comment that earned her a middle finger from Pansy. She had missed their light ribbing.

"I'm telling you this on one condition," Pansy began, the smile had already waned from her lips and Hermione could tell whatever Pansy was about to tell her took a lot of courage. "You're then going to talk to me about what in Merlin's fucking trousers made you go to Malfoy _fucking_ Manor unaccompanied."

Hermione blushed, she should have known Draco would have brought up her escapades from earlier that day. A light tremor ran down her spine even at the mention of the place, but she put on a brave face and nodded, accepting Pansy's terms. It had always helped her in the past to talk about her experience at the manor, usually to Pansy who would listen stony faced and not give her the same pitying looks as everyone else. Pansy was practical and helpful, two things Hermione needed to stop herself from slipping and falling victim to the terror and grief that had consumed her after the war.

"Ok, seeing as I'm not one to waste time I think I'll just come out and say it." Pansy took hold of Hermione's hand and looked into her eyes. "I've been shagging Ron Weasley."

From her sudden delivery and obviously the ludicrous nature of the sentence Hermione was certain, at least for a few minutes that Pansy was joking. That was before her mind connected the dots and realised that what her best friend had uttered made perfect sense.

She thought about their consistent unexplained animosity towards each other, animosity which had clearly been masking sexual tension. She remembered her birthday when she'd been too wrapped up in the whole Draco Malfoy thing to wonder why Ron and Pansy were hanging out together in the first place, and finally how chirpy and sober Pansy had been recently until Ron had slept with Penelope. It all made _so_ much sense.

Even the conversation she Pansy, and Ginny had had the other day almost directly tackled Pansy's changed behaviour, when the two of them noted how little she was drinking and how few men she'd been out with. Yet Hermione _still_ hadn't made the link, assuming that Pansy would tell her if there were something important going on in her life.

"Wow." Hermione breathed, her mind reeling as she processed all the parts of the puzzle which fit together perfectly. "How long?"

Pansy was watching her nervously, clearly unsure of how to proceed due to the lack of emotion in her friend's voice.

"The first time was after James' first birthday brunch." Hermione's jaw dropped, that was a considerable amount of time for two of her best friends to keep a secret from her, a pretty damn massive secret at that. "Though we had kissed the Friday before, you know that night when you got absolutely trollied and snogged Theo?"

The surprises just kept on coming.

"Ron was _there_?! You two were kissing?!" Hermione exclaimed, and Pansy chewed her lip anxiously.

"Yeah he was there with some guys from auror training, it sort of just happened, but then I got distracted by you and I didn't see him for the rest of the night, he missed you tonging Nott though." Pansy explained. "I don't really know what I was expecting at James' party, but it _certainly_ wasn't insults and cold stares. I was so angry that he'd been so nasty to me that day after a mistake we _both_ made, and was also a little tipsy from all the mimosas, that in the evening I went to confront him at his house, and, well…"

Hermione stared at her best friend of four years in complete shock. She was angry, yes, but not because she was jealous or anything foolish like that. Hermione was simply hurt that two of her closest friends had essentially begun a relationship behind her back and she had had no knowledge of it. She was also angry with herself. It was clear that she had been so wrapped up in her own love life and the Slytherin boys that she'd neglected to pay attention to what was going on around her.

"What happened after that?" She asked curtly, trying not to raise her voice.

"We used our mobiles and arranged to meet pretty regularly in secret." Pansy sighed, and once again Hermione remembered several occasions when Pansy had slid out of the flat after a 'work call', only to return late in the evening. "At the start I would get pretty trashed before going to meet him, it seemed the only way I could justify it. But after your birthday we sort of just started… seeing each other properly."

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" Hermione asked sadly, thinking over and over that if she had just been a better friend she would have picked up on it herself.

"I don't know, there never seemed to be a good time." Pansy replied softly, looking down at her hands to avoid Hermione's gaze. "At first, I was just so embarrassed, and also pretty sure it would never happen again. Then when we started to like each other, and I convinced myself you would hate me for it, after all you were with Ron for such a long time."

"I don't care about any of that!" Hermione exclaimed, losing her cool for the first time, causing Pansy to sit up straight and look at her alarmedly. "You're my best friend Pansy, I thought we told each other _everything_ , I thought you could trust me with stuff like this."

Pansy's face crumpled, and she looked for a moment as though she might burst into tears, her knuckles turning white as they clutched the cooling coffee mug before her.

"I know and I'm so sorry, I didn't know how to tell you, things kept coming up – Theo, Ginny, problems at work."

Hermione knew Pansy was right. It had been a very hectic few weeks, and she also knew more importantly that Pansy and Ron's love lives were their own. They had probably needed some time alone to figure out how they felt without involving everyone in their friendship circle, but at that moment Hermione just needed to be mad. She didn't care that the logical side of her brain was telling her to calm down and hug the miserable woman in front of her.

"I don't want to hear anymore excuses, I've already wasted enough of my Sunday dealing with this." She cried, getting up from the table and heading towards her bedroom. There was just too much going on at that moment. Ron and Pansy (and Penelope?!), her bothersome new colleague Geoffrey, her break from Theo which would probably have some sort of impact on work, and of course Draco Malfoy. All she wanted to do was sleep and forget about it all.

And so, sleep she did. Even though it was only about seven in the evening, Hermione threw off her clothes and pulled the covers of her duvet over her head. She didn't even go over the basic outline of her case and the new wizarding justice system as she had planned to do that night before work, allowing herself for the first time in a long time, a break.

Twelve hours of rest sounded ideal considering she would have to get up the next day and do it all over again for another week.

* * *

It did not take a genius to notice that Hermione Granger was in a rather terrible mood the following Monday morning. This, Draco Malfoy thought, was good, as it was actually Weasley who came across her outside the fireplaces first and had the good sense to walk hastily in the other direction, and Ron Weasley was certainly no genius. Though Draco did consider himself a genius, he took almost the opposite path to the red headed imbecile and decided to approach his cranky colleague.

"Looking chipper this morning Granger." He commented, smoothly speeding up to match her ferocious pace as the two of them made their way towards their department.

"Piss off Malfoy." She grumbled in response, tucking a strand of her wild hair behind her ear.

Draco had (irritatingly) already noted that Hermione's physical appearance that morning did not match her terrible mood. She looked, possibly for the first time he'd seen her since Hogwarts, well rested. The ever-present bags under her eyes had faded, and her skin seemed to be even more freckly and glowing despite it being October. He was also quite distracted by the nice skirt and close fitting green top she was wearing, green certainly suited her.

"Just the spirit I was expecting from that fowl look on your face." He quipped, swinging his briefcase merrily, enjoying bothering her in the same why he had before Theo had busted his balls about it. There would certainly be no worrying about Theodore Nott any longer.

Although Draco wouldn't admit it, he did miss his short, quick tongued friend. He missed the gentleman's brunches he Theo and Blaise had routinely shared together until Hermione Granger had crashed back into their lives and turned everything on it's axis. Draco sincerely hoped that something would happen to mend the rift between him and Theo, but he was also stubborn, and for some reason did not want to avoid Hermione in order to achieve that.

"Yes, well I've had a rather unpleasant twenty-four hours." She spat, almost careering into him as she took the next bend in the corridor very sharply.

Draco blinked in confusion. He had been too busy enjoying the back and forth between the two of them to actually consider why Hermione might be in such a bad mood. His mind ran over the tumultuous events of the previous day, and his brow furrowed in concern.

"Wait." He said curtly, reaching out to stop Hermione in her tracks. It was automatic and natural – not at all the usual calculated moves he took around her (or anyone really), and he found himself looking down at his hand placed on her shoulder almost in surprise. Hermione too looked quite taken aback by the physical contact, but he had accomplished what he'd wanted, and she'd stopped to look at him. "Is this about the manor? My mother? You can tell me if she said anything unsavoury to you."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed in a motion she thought probably resembled a goldfish as she processed what the man before her was saying, and the fact that his hand was touching, no, _stroking_ her shoulder in a dark corner of the ministry. After a few minutes she finally got her act together and replied.

"No, it's nothing to do with that Draco don't be ridiculous," At the sound of his given name Malfoy retracted his arm and stood to attention, Hermione blushed at what had clearly been her assuming familiarity that wasn't there. "It's to do with Pansy and me, don't worry about it."

She turned on her heel and stalked off towards the doors of the department of magical law enforcement, leaving Draco stood in the shadows a few feet behind. He wasn't sure what to say to that, or if it was even his place to comment. He did worry, a great deal in fact, about Pansy Parkinson and her welfare. The possibility that Hermione wouldn't forgive Pansy straight away simply hadn't crossed his mind, and he couldn't imagine how heartbroken his childhood friend must be at that moment. Then there was also the matter of his partner and whatever was going on in that confusing head of hers, not that he wanted to delve into that anyway.

He followed her awkwardly, knowing that they would have to check for any messages from Percy Weasley and then resume working together in a few moments anyway. He felt a whoosh of air move past his shoulder and noted Theo Nott brushing past him, not giving so much as a second glace as he jolted Draco out of the way.

"I think he's still quite upset." Daphne murmured in his ear, causing an unsuspecting Draco to nearly jump out of his skin.

" _Merlin_ don't we say hello anymore?!" He exclaimed, although he was mildly impressed in Daphne's ability to sneak but disliked her using it on him. "Anyway, I had guessed he would be sore, heard Hermione broke things off with him recently."

Daphne nodded and chewed her lip thoughtfully as she stared up into his eyes.

"Yes, a few of us were speculating about whether or not that had anything to do with _you_?"

"By a few do you mean you and Astoria while Theo and Blaise grunted in agreement?" Draco asked bitterly. He was starting to think it was a good thing he had missed the Sunday walk, it didn't sound as though he would have had many allies there.

"Well Astoria and I might have been leading the conversation," Daphne admitted with an eye roll, before her pale pink lips twisted into a smirk. "But once Theo told Blaise about your little tryst he was also quite enthused by the idea."

Draco groaned and placed a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. It was barely 9 o clock and already this Monday was undoubtedly a pile of wank.

"He told _Blaise_? Hermione's not going to be pleased about that." It was a half-hearted comment, in all honesty Draco was just impressed the secret had stayed between so few of them for so long. This was bound to happen. "How many is that who know now, six?"

Daphne counted on her fingers, ticking off names as she went.

"Well there's me, you and Hermione obviously. Then Theo Ron and Pansy who saw it happen." Draco groaned before she finished. Definitely more than six. "Add to that Blaise, Ginny, most likely Harry but can't know for sure, and of course Astoria – I make it nine or ten?"

"For fuck's sake Daphne if this gets out it could really start up some shit." He muttered, although he already knew it was too late. Secrets never stayed secrets for long. Daphne looked at him quizzically, a small smile playing about her lips.

"Why do you care? I thought the whole reason you did this was to piss off Theo, Ron and Hermione?"

Draco shot her a dirty look. He didn't understand why the people around him persisted in being so involved in his personal life, it was extremely tiring.

"You know very well I was just having a dry patch and wanted to see if I could get the meddlesome witch out of my head, don't give me that, of course I don't want this splashed all over the tabloids."

"Yes, yes whatever you say Draco darling." Daphne replied mockingly, beginning to head towards the doors of their department as the clock chimed nine. "Secrets are like feelings, they don't stay hidden forever."

* * *

 **Oooh how I love sneaky Daphne ;)**

 **So now we're going to be incorporating more of the work, Theo will come back into the mix as well and we'll have to see how far this secret can spread and what effect it will have, don't think Hermione will be pleased if such a sensational story ends up in the Prophet!**

 **Anyway, hope this chapter was ok, should be getting back into my weekly rhythm of updates now so will see you soon :)**


	21. The Reconciliation

**I'm back! And first thing I have to say - WOWZER, over 100 reviews! I wasn't sure I'd get to this landmark, thanks so much to everyone who leaves me comments/feedback to read I absolutely love them. Special shout out today to Kou Shun'u for reviewing ever chapter I've written - I'm gonna be going over your comments with a fine toothed comb and fixing any mistakes :) and also to lun27 for being with me since the beginning!**

 **To everyone else, I love and read every one of your reviews! I don't always reply, but know that each one inspires me to keep writing, so thank you :)**

 **Anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Padma Patil barely allowed Percy Weasley to finish greeting them and handing out more detailed information on their cases before she pounced on the unsuspecting Hermione Granger.

"I hear things between you and Theo are over, what happened?" She asked excitedly, tapping her long-manicured fingernails on the thick brown file that had been passed to her while her ministry allocated partner waited awkwardly at her side.

Hermione sighed and couldn't resist shooting a look over at her ex-something-or-other who was smirking at something Blaise had said. The two men had glanced at her multiple times during that morning's briefing, it had taken all of her willpower not to turn and hex them.

"How did you hear about that? It happened on Friday in private and I only told Ginny and Harry over the weekend," Padma grinned and opened her mouth to answer, but Hermione changed her mind. "Actually, I don't want to know. It was friendly and mutual, we just decided it wasn't going to work out."

Her response was a planned one, apart from her closest friends Hermione had decided there was no need for anyone else to know what had actually transpired between her and Theo, especially because that story involved a few salacious accidental kisses with another man that she definitely didn't want to get out.

Padma looked put out by the decidedly inane comments Hermione provided her but nodded and gave her friend a half-hearted hug.

"Well I'm sorry about that Hermione, I'm sure the next guy will be the one." She gave the baffled witch a kind smile and turned on her heel to begin work on her case.

Hermione wasn't sure what to make of Padma's comments, it seemed that just about everyone in the wizarding world felt sorry for her. Maybe they had just expected she would find her true love after things didn't work out with Ron and settle down to make babies just like Harry had with Ginny, or maybe she was reading too much into it and that was just what society expected of all women her age. Either way she was tired of it.

"Yes Granger, you had better find a wizard soon, you're already 24 that means the biological clock is ticking." Draco said snidely from behind her, and Hermione was about to snap something irritable back before she turned and noted the twinkle in his eye. He was joking and was undoubtedly mocking Padma's silly comments.

She steeled herself and winked back, something she would never ordinarily do but in that moment, it seemed appropriate. Besides, despite her awful mood spurred on from the previous day and now from workplace gossip, Hermione had had the best night's sleep in years and was actually feeling chipper.

"I know, may as well start advertising my uterus in _Witch Weekly_."

At this Draco let out a loud, rare laugh. It was one that didn't sound cruel or mocking as he so often had during their time in school, and since the war Hermione was fairly sure from what Pansy had told her he had had very little reason to so much as chuckle. His silver-grey eyes crinkled, and his shiny white teeth revealed themselves, Hermione found herself breaking out into a grin at the picture of joy before her. It was strangely heart-warming.

She pretended not to notice the nasty glare Theo shot them both as he grabbed hold of Blaise's forearm and tugged him away, instead looking down at the heavy file she held in her arms. It was definitely the thickest of the three that had been handed out, and Hermione didn't doubt this was due to the extent and horror of Lestrange's crimes.

"Well," She said with a sigh, her stomach already roiling slightly at the thought of what they would find in those pages. "We should probably get started, this is definitely going to take a while and we need to properly assemble our case."

Draco's face fell into an expression of solemnity like her own, and he nodded in agreement. They both knew the difficulties that came along with Rodolphus Lestrange. Not only was he one of the cruellest death eaters awaiting trial, but he was also clever. There were very few witnesses willing to take the stand against him as he had threatened both them and their families, so building a case on hard evidence would be difficult.

"Yes, we will certainly be devoting a lot of time to this, may as well crack on." Draco agreed, and as Hermione lifted her handbag and began to move towards the library, he held his arm out to stop her. This time he did not touch her, a fact Hermione noted with a flush.

"Let's not sit in that drab room with all the others, don't want to risk seeing Geoffrey anyway." Hermione looked at him quizzically, wondering where else they would work – though she did agree that avoiding Geoffrey was ideal. "I know a coffee shop in muggle London I think you would like, we should head there. It's light and beautiful, even at this time of year."

Hermione chewed her lip as she pondered the suggestion. What Draco had said sounded perfect, she loved to work in bright spaces, and loved coffee even more, but she didn't want to feed into the rumour mill anymore than they already had.

Eventually Hermione decided to throw caution to the wind. She hadn't cared about people spreading lies about her at school, it made no sense to worry about it now.

"Sounds great." She replied with a smile, hastily casting a disillusionment charm on the papers she held so that anyone who caught sight of them who wasn't on the case would see revision notes on the digestive system – they could pass for university students.

Draco smiled back, and Hermione felt her stomach flutter at the sight she had been treated to twice in just a few moments. She felt strangely privileged to have seen that side of him, even though she knew they weren't really friends.

"Alright then I'll lead the way," He said brightly, trying to remain casual when he knew that what he had suggested was anything but. In truth he just wanted to avoid the scathing glances from Blaise and Theo in the library, and the quizzical ones of Daphne and the Patil girl. Some fresh air and good coffee was definitely preferable, no matter that when Hermione had agreed to it he had felt his chest swoop like an infatuated teenager's. That was inconsequential. "You'll enjoy this place, it's perfect for work."

Hermione nodded and followed his lead, quite glad that their colleagues had already departed in their pairs to the bowels of the ministry. Although it was perfectly reasonable for her to be working with her partner on their case, she was still paranoid about someone finding out what had happened between them and making a larger story of it than it really was.

From a dark corridor branching off the atrium they had been stood in, a young witch hiding in the shadows raised one perfectly plucked brow at the exchange she had just witnessed. Her chest was burning with anger and indignance as she watched the two colleagues head towards the fireplaces together, the bushy haired Hermione laughing at something her partner had said. This was certainly something she would have to look into.

* * *

After they had both ordered a cappuccino to have in and chosen seats on the quieter upstairs floor, Hermione sat back in the comfortable armchair she was sat in and perused her surroundings. The café was beautiful, the windows were huge and latticed, the ceilings high and probably Georgian, adding to the grandeur of the place. But despite it being grand, the establishment was comfortable and welcoming – not cold and ostentatious like the restaurant Hermione had been forced to eat at that Saturday.

There were house plants of varying size and species filling corners of the room, and the seats – though expensive looking and very plush – were slightly worn and very inviting. It also helped that the eatery was tucked away in one of the quieter parts of muggle London, meaning that though there were plenty of people there, the place wasn't packed.

"What do you think?" Draco asked with a satisfied smirk, and Hermione blushed when she realised she had been gawping.

"It's perfectly lovely." She replied with a pressed-lip smile, lifting up her mug to take a sip of coffee. She reached for the file that was on the table between them after having a taste of the delicious coffee and was surprised when her partner placed his hand on the opposite corner of the papers, holding it down.

"Now now Granger, surely we can have a chat before getting right into things." He said teasingly, and once again Hermione found herself blushing. She was certain that at school Draco Malfoy had never been this disarming, this unpredictable. Or maybe he had but she had never spent enough time with him to realise that. To her he had always seemed like a snobby, whiny one-note bully. It was strange to see so many different sides to him, the sides that laughed at her jokes and winked at her when someone in the room made a stupid comment, strange but not unpleasant.

"W-What would you like to speak about?" She asked, fumbling her words slightly in her confusion which only caused her to flush a deeper shade of red. His behaviour was startling, she had been sure they were there to review the file and begin planning their case, nothing more.

"I think you know what I would like to speak with you about." He answered mystically, but Hermione did not. Eventually after a few moments of the two of them staring across the table at each other, he spoke once again. "Pansy. I want to know why you got so upset with her yesterday."

Hermione blinked in surprise, that she had not been expecting. She was about to chastise him for even asking the question, but then realised that by bumbling into his mother's home and then invading his own before dragging him out to her flat to speak to Pansy about the matter at hand she had undoubtedly involved him. She couldn't simply say it was none of his business as it now sort of was.

"She's my best friend and she kept a secret from me for over a month, she lied about sleeping with my ex-boyfriend." She said simply, wincing slightly after she had spoken, she hadn't meant to mention the ex-boyfriend part, it made her sound jealous which she actually wasn't. Her and Ron had been terrible together, and all she had wanted since breaking his heart was for him to move on. What she was upset about was the secrecy.

"Ah I see," Draco mused with a raised eyebrow. His face had turned stony, and Hermione once again was left wondering what she had said to cause such a change in expression. "Now that another girl has your… _toy_ you want it back to play with."

Hermione almost choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken and put her mug down so forcefully a little liquid spilled onto her hand.

"Of course not," She spat angrily, even more incensed as at her reaction Draco smirked slightly. "I couldn't care less about who Ron dates, all I want is for him to move on, I'm just angry that Pansy lied to me for so long. I don't know _why_ she couldn't tell me."

Hermione almost continued with her rant, almost said the things that she had been thinking ever since Pansy had come clean to her the day before. That she actually wasn't really that mad at Pansy, she was angry with herself. Yet again one of her best friends had been dealing with something huge, and Hermione had been too wrapped up in her own silliness to notice. She felt guilty more than anything, guilty that Pansy had felt she couldn't come to her best friend with this situation. It was as though both she and Ginny saw that Hermione couldn't be trusted.

Draco was silent for a few moments as he studied her, his eyes narrowed. He could see the hurt in Hermione's eyes, see the angry tears threatening to spill as she anxiously sipped her coffee, tapping her fingers against the china. Then it hit him.

"Pansy choosing to keep this from you doesn't make you a bad friend." He said quietly, his eyes searching for a reaction that would confirm his suspicions. To his relief, Hermione's eyes opened wide with shock, but she didn't deny it. He had guessed correctly.

"I, well I suppose it just seems that there must be a reason my friends can't trust me with things. Why they choose not to tell me things, or maybe why I don't notice what's going on." She replied, trying to keep the emotion that was threatening to spill over out of her voice.

Draco nodded thoughtfully, pondering how best to address this problem. It was certainly one he had never had, he always assumed that his friends (like himself) wanted to keep certain things private about their lives for no reason other than they needed to wait until they were ready to make them public. He could see why someone as open and worrisome as Hermione would think that Pansy's decision to keep this aspect of her life a secret was one rooted in distrust of her flatmate, but that was obviously untrue.

"I think it's important to remember, Her- _Granger_ ," He began, hoping she hadn't noticed the slip of the tongue as he tried to articulate his thoughts into words. "That there are just certain things we need to keep to ourselves until we are ready to share them. Pansy was embarrassed, she told me that herself, embarrassed and ashamed at what was going on for a long time. She needed to work up the courage and find the right time to bring the matter to your attention, she clearly had always planned to do so."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully at his words, absently wondering why he was trying to help her.

"Maybe it was the shame, maybe it was that she needed to figure out her own feelings for Weasley before letting other people in on the secret, or maybe it was just lack of good timing. Whatever the main reason for her keeping this private, it certainly wasn't lack of trust or respect for you." Draco continued, hoping that Granger was getting the message that it was _Pansy_ he was worried about, not her. He decided to add a comment to that effect for good measure. "Pansy is lost without you, that worries me."

The witch nodded once again, taking a long drink of her coffee as she pondered what he had said to her. Though she still felt a little insecure about her ability to be a good friend, he had certainly made her see that there was no reason to doubt the strength and importance of her and Pansy's relationship. His reassurance was simple but effective, she could indeed see why Pansy would want to keep something this private and awkward from her – after all Hermione had sat on her secret about her and Draco's New Years kiss for much longer for the same reasons.

"I think you're right." She said slowly, not meeting his gaze as she said the treacherous sentence. Draco smirked at her, satisfied with his attempts to mend the rift between Hermione and one of his best friends.

"Ah, the phrase every man wants to hear." He grinned, causing her to fling a coffee stirrer his way. "Now that we've gotten your ridiculous drama out of the way, can we please do some work?"

Hermione didn't bother pointing out that it was he, not her, who had brought up the disagreement between her and Pansy, because she was quite grateful that he had given her advice. She noted the ludicrous nature of the situation – her partner and childhood bully Draco Malfoy had just solved an argument between her and her best friend. What was even more annoying was that she had set herself the task of fixing the troubles between him and his friends and had so far gotten nowhere.

As she opened the heavy file in between them and pulled out two quills from her bag, Hermione made a resolution in her mind. The 'Help Draco Malfoy' plan needed a reboot. She definitely owed him one after this.

* * *

Ginny Weasley relaxed into one of Hermione's comfy purple armchairs and took a sip from the bottle of raspberry juice she had brought from home. It was the only thing she wanted to drink at that time, it seemed that her cravings were coming thick and fast with her current pregnancy, whereas James had been something of an easy ride.

"It seems we have many things to discuss." She said dramatically, adjusting the glasses she had worn for the occasion. Ginny abhorred her glasses, she felt old and infirm wearing them, but there were some days – like today – when she was dealing with far too much to contest with a headache brought on by her poor vision. Also she wanted to look serious.

Pansy and Hermione were sat opposite her on the sofa perched uncomfortably as far away from each other as possible. Hermione had returned home from her strangely enjoyable first day working with Malfoy to see Ginny had already set up camp in her living room and was given no choice but to sit down and "get her fucking act together", as her guest had so eloquently put it.

Judging by the fact that Pansy was still in her pyjamas and looked as though she was yet to shower, she hadn't bothered getting up before Ginny invaded their flat.

"Did you already tell her what was going on then?" Hermione asked more than a little bitterly to the witch sat to her left. Though Malfoy had successfully talked her out of her mood earlier, she resented being put in a position she couldn't control, and stubbornly wanted to make things as difficult for Ginny as possible.

Before Pansy could answer the redhead jumped in. It was clear that despite Hermione's best efforts, Ginny was determined to keep hold of the reigns and dictate where the conversation went.

"No, I drilled it out of my brother today as he came to see me for his lunch break. Ron can be quite useful when put under pressure." She commented drily, taking another sip of her pink juice before placing it onto the coffee table and putting her hands on the sides of the armchair. "The first thing I want to deal with is what's going on with you two. It's obvious you're pissed off Hermione."

"And you're not?!" Hermione spluttered, not even bothering to debate Ginny's assumption.

"No, I'm not pissed off about my best friend shagging my brother, I dealt with that quite a long time ago in case you don't remember." Ginny snapped, causing Hermione to blush and Pansy to smirk in spite of the situation. "So, will you please just say what's got you so riled up. Do you still care for Ron?"

Hermione groaned and put her head in her hands, simultaneously fuming and defeated. It seemed this was a question she would be dodging the rest of her life, no doubt even if she found someone to settle down with. She realised then that she had two clear choices; continue being angry and petty and refuse to answer Ginny's questions, or come clean about how she was actually feeling. Her mind drifted to earlier that day and how quickly Draco Malfoy had seen what she was worried about, how he had advised her on how to deal with things.

She wanted nothing more than to get up and storm off into her room just as she had done to Pansy the previous evening, but the irritatingly smug voice of Malfoy was telling her things she deep down already knew. That acting out would help nobody, that it would be so much easier and would make so much more sense to just tell her best friends how she was feeling and why.

She took a deep breath, annoyed beyond belief that Draco Malfoy had _somehow_ wormed his way into her conscience, and decided to take the high ground.

"I feel like… like a shit friend, ok?" She said eventually, already feeling the tell-tale pricking of tears at her eyes. "It's definitely worse because this came so soon after what's going on with Ginny, but I just feel like neither of you trust me anymore, and obviously there must be a reason for that. Why else would you not be able to come to me with these things?!"

" _You_ feel like a shit friend?!" Pansy choked, speaking for the first time and turning to face Hermione with tears already glistening in her eyes. "I shagged your ex-boyfriend and kept it a secret from you, what kind of a friend is that? Hermione I was _ashamed_ , that's why I couldn't tell you."

"And you know what I'm like," Ginny said meekly, reaching across the coffee table to touch Hermione's hand reassuringly. "I'd rather start an argument any day than tell someone about something I'm struggling with."

Hermione nodded and took a breath before speaking again, hoping her emotion wouldn't disrupt her speech too much.

"Pansy there is _nothing_ you could tell me that I would judge you for. Nothing, I will always be your friend." She said, absently thinking that anyone walking in on the scene that was unravelling in their living room would think they had entered a soap opera.

Pansy's only response was to let out another loud sob and wrap her arms around her best friend. The two of them were quickly joined by Ginny, who pushed her way into the centre of the crying women and hugged them both tight.

After a few minutes the sobs had settled down, and all three women were sat sniffling slightly on the sofa, wet tissues in hand, arms still loosely wrapped around each other.

"Well, now that I've settled that hiccup." Ginny said, pausing to blow her nose. "It's time to move on to the next issue, and that is Mr Ronald Weasley himself. What are you going to do Pans?"

Pansy sighed and leant back against the cushions letting her gaze wonder up to the ceiling in thought.

"I'm still not sure, and that's after spending over three days crying and whining about it." She muttered. Hermione too realised that they hadn't even begun to discuss the matter of Ron and Penelope Clearwater, obviously the matter that had put Pansy in such a terrible mood to begin with. "Without wanting to sound like a lovestruck idiot or trying to justify what he did, we weren't actually together, it's not like I put a label on things. In fact, I went to a great deal of effort to _not_ put a label on things. It would be rich of me to now tell him off for 'cheating' when he couldn't have done, we weren't a couple."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully as Ginny interjected with the information she had garnered from her lunch with Ron that day.

"When I spoke to him he did briefly mention that the two of you weren't an actual item, but he spent most of the time just talking about how sorry he was, not trying to excuse himself. I know I may come across biased as he's my brother, but Pansy, he's really heartbroken over this, he feels awful."

"Did he tell you any more about how… it… happened? He tried to explain to me when I saw him on Saturday but I was too angry to listen." Pansy asked tentatively.

"Yes, he did actually, apparently, he went out with some of the auror boys on Friday night to a few bars, he said he got so wasted he threw up multiple times and ended up being thrown out. He doesn't remember what happened but assumes Penelope must have seen him stumbling about and tried to help him home. He said when he woke up she was already leaving, seemed like a huge drunken mess to me."

"But you haven't been seeing other men, you haven't been going out on the lash and coming home with your usual boytoys." Hermione pointed out to Pansy, although she loved Ron, she didn't want him getting off the hook completely for what he had done, it was still quite shitty. "Why couldn't he extend the same courtesy, label or no label."

Pansy mused for a few moments before replying, it seemed she too was quite conflicted.

"That's the difficulty Hermione, I always implied we were very casual and that I was keeping my options open. Ron actually asked me out a few times more recently, I always turned him down." She took a shaky breath and looked away, finding the next part to awkward to say to Hermione's face. "I was trying to ignore my feelings, trying to push them down and pretend they weren't real. But after this… after how much his actions have hurt me I can't pretend anymore. It's just a shame it seems I'm too late."

"But it's not too late!" Ginny exclaimed hopefully. "Like I said Ron's heartbroken, all he wants is to see you and sort things out, there's definitely another chance for you two."

"It's not that easy though Gin, I've got to sort my own bloody life out first." Pansy groaned. "I'm a fucking wreck. I need to start taking my job more seriously, stop drinking whenever I face a problem, figure out what it is I actually feel for Ron so I don't mess him around any longer."

"I think now is the time for us to swear off men." Hermione said with a weak smile, a comment that caused Pansy to spin around and face her in confusion.

"Swear off men? What about Theo?"

Both Hermione and Ginny sucked in breath through their teeth at almost the exact same time. It seemed that in all the madness of the weekend, Hermione had completely forgotten to tell Pansy about her and Theo's split. She'd even told Draco Malfoy before her (actually she'd told him first out of everyone, but that was something Hermione didn't want to think too hard about).

"About that…" Hermione began, wondering how best to put it without insulting or embarrassing Theo to one of his closest friends.

"You broke up?!" Pansy cried, jumping up and pointing an accusing finger at Hermione. "Tell me who when where and why, I need _all_ of the details."

The brunette couldn't help but laugh at her friend's reaction, grabbing her by the arm and tugging her back down onto the sofa beside Ginny. She reached up and flicked her wand, lighting their fireplace as they settled in to hear the details of Hermione and Theo's failed romantic exploits, Ginny perfectly comfortable to snuggle up and listen for a second time.

As they sat there in front of her, Ginny almost dozing off with one hand against the slight swell of her abdomen, her eyes warm and sleepy as she struggled to listen to what was being said, and Pansy with her short black hair tousled and almost upright around her pixie-like face, blue eyes brighter than they had been in days and shining with mirth now not tears, Hermione wondered seriously if there was anything else she needed in life.

She felt, although she was a little guilty for Theo's sake to admit it, free without the constant worries of a relationship tying her down. With both Ron and Theo, though they were very different and she had had very different dating experiences with the two of them, she had always felt inadequate. Either she wasn't exciting enough, or she wasn't committed or loving or focused on romance. Hermione was tired of not being enough. Yes, there was still that part of her which hungered for passion – passion which she had genuinely thought Theodore Nott would be able to deliver – but she was also beginning to worry that she was just not the type who could enjoy passion. Maybe it was either dull, spark-less monogamy or a one-night stand for her, maybe she couldn't be that type of lover.

That evening in front of the fire however, Hermione was not thinking about such matters. She was giggling with Pansy about some memory they had shared in France a few years ago and tucking a loose strand of Ginny's hair away from her face as she dozed in-between them.

Hermione wanted so badly for this to be all she needed, her and her two best friends snuggling in front of a fire and laughing about old stories and new adventures they wanted to have in the future. But when it got sufficiently late and Pansy made the decision to phone Harry to come and collect his sleeping wife, Hermione watched with longing as the boy who lived woke up his partner with a kiss before hauling her into his arms as she chuckled sleepily.

She was so nearly complete, so nearly satisfied until she saw what two of her best friends had together as Harry apparated still carrying Ginny bridal style from the centre of Hermione's living room to the home they shared as a family. The desire to have that – that and more was still gnawing away at her inside.

Pansy came up beside her almost as if she could sense the longing and gave her an uncharacteristically gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Fuck men, right Granger?"

"Yeah." Hermione replied with a sad smile. "Fuck them."

She only wished she meant it.

* * *

 **Quite a bit to unpack this week! Of course Hermione wouldn't stay angry with Pansy for long ;)**

 **I'm enjoying the increased HG/DM interaction! Of course it won't be all sunshine and roses for long, but so far so good!**

 **Thanks so much for reading, please leave a review if you have anything to say or suggest, love ya x**


	22. The Charges

**Back again! Just a few messages before the chapter which I hope you will read :)**

 **1\. Most important and as always, THANK YOU for every review! I really love to read them :D**

 **2\. I've included a description of what happened to 'the muggle families in London' who were victims of Lestrange I referred to in a previous chapter, it isn't graphic per-se, but if things like crime shows, thrillers or murders freak you out or are one of your triggers I would reccommend avoiding it, it's all in italics and is titled with the case :)**

 **3\. I'm starting a new full time job next week and so may have to slow up on the updates, I hope not though**

 **4\. I need a beta reader! I have realised that my grammatical skills are pretty darn average, and I keep missing things even after my re-reads so I would really love someone to help me out with that! PM me! :)**

 **Anyway on with the chapter x**

* * *

Pansy was actually up before her for the next few mornings, awake and dressed brewing a pot of coffee while Hermione was still in her room choosing what blouse to pair with which skirt. Though it unnerved her slightly, Hermione also hoped the behaviour continued. She knew that the 'sort my shit out' attitude Pansy had adopted had given her a new lease on life, she was brighter and chirpier (and more sarcastic) than Hermione had seen her in weeks, it was very refreshing.

By Thursday Hermione and her partner had also assimilated into their new routine. They would join everyone for the morning briefing session first thing and receive any additional information from Percy before heading out of the ministry and to the café in London Draco had introduced her to on the Monday.

Hermione was almost starting to enjoy work as much as she had school, especially with the bright and open space Draco had located for them to work on the case in. She also felt a lot better about being out of the ministry what with the uncomfortable working environment she had accidentally created with Theo Nott. Though Hermione was definitely not one to run from her problems, she also theorised that he needed time to get his anger and resentment out of his system before she could approach him for rapprochement.

Her partner too had adjusted well to the new routine, though his included one additional step that Hermione was not yet aware of. It had begun as a joke, Malfoy's morning routine with the elder Greengrass. After their brief conversation on Monday about Theo informing Blaise of what had happened between himself and Hermione, Draco had teasingly asked Daphne the following morning what the 'number' was up to now (the number, of course, being the amount of people who knew about their kiss). To his dismay Daphne had pulled him to one side and answered candidly, and the news was not good.

It seemed that Theo's new tactic was almost a complete reversal on his original one of silence, as since Monday he had told ten other people about the events of Hermione's birthday party. No one of particular interest, but still an uncomfortable number of names. Draco could only assume that now that Theo no longer had Hermione, he had no interest in preserving her reputation and keeping her away from himself. In fact it seemed he was probably trying to do the adverse, ruin her status and isolate her by letting people who knew and respected her about a mistake she had made with an ex-death eater.

Whatever Theo's reasoning, his actions did not sit well with Draco at all. He wasn't sure exactly what it was that bothered him the most about Theo's personal rumour mill, he was obviously worried about the effect of the aforementioned reputation-ruining Theo seemed to be trying to pull off, but it was more than that. Draco was liking how things between he and Hermione had progressed over the past few days. He had (dare he say it) begun to enjoy her company and didn't want to risk their triste hitting front page news jeopardising things.

So, he did the same thing that Thursday he had for the two days before, and caught hold of Daphne, pulling her to one side before the group of them met in the atrium of the department of magical law enforcement. Daphne didn't even wait for him to say good morning or ask her what the current situation was, a sign which bothered him immensely.

"It's not good," She began, also a red flag. "Padma already cornered me on the way in and asked me what I knew about you and Hermione. She said she had heard something I would not believe about Hermione's birthday party a few weeks ago."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and hissed a string of curse words that would have made his mother choke on her tea. This was _certainly_ not good.

"A Patil knows? For fuck's sake. Is there anything we can do?" He asked nervously, and Daphne gave him a pitying look and shook her head.

"I don't think so. I don't even know if it's Theo or one of the others that has been telling other people since yesterday either, there could be countless people in the know by now." Daphne paused before offering her advice. "The only thing you can do is tell Hermione what's going on so it's not a nasty shock when someone inevitably brings it up to her. I think she'd appreciate the forethought."

Draco cursed once more at the thought of the conversation he was going to have to engage in probably that day. He really had wanted to avoid this.

The two of them stood in tense silence for a few minutes before Daphne spoke once again, her voice even lower and more tentative.

"Draco… look. I know you've said before you don't want this getting out because of your reputation, but I want to know if it's more than that." Draco opened his mouth to snap a reply but Daphne was too quick and held a finger to his mouth, her green eyes alive with energy. "I see the way you look at her and I know how highly you think of her, I'm not dense Malfoy. Now you can either admit it to me and to yourself or you can carry on tormenting everyone around you with your confused aims and mood swings."

A tiny part of Draco was torn. It was clear that Daphne just wanted to help, she had stood by him through many tough times even though until recent years they hadn't been particularly close, and she still bothered to associate with him now when barely any of his other Slytherin friends would. Also, he knew deep down that there was _some_ truth to her words and what she was trying to say. _Obviously,_ he felt nothing as deep as Daphne was suggesting for Hermione, but he had come to respect and even admire her. However, Draco's mind hastily shut down these traitorous thoughts as quickly as they had come.

Daphne was talking out of her arse, there was nothing between him and Hermione except a few awkward kisses and now a civil working relationship, they meant nothing to one another. He resolved to make that clear to her, and everyone else if he had to.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He snapped defensively and was even more incensed when she just rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like that, you know you're being presumptuous. Granger and I are colleagues, nothing more. The reason I don't want this to get out because I think she'd overreact and it would affect our professional relationship."

"Fine, whatever you say." Daphne sighed, flapping her hand as if to dismiss him. "You're exhausting, do you know that? Astoria asked me the other day why I persist in trying to help you and I told her it was because you deserved it, but now I'm really not so sure."

Then she turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving Draco perplexed and irritated. He didn't understand what he had done wrong, if Daphne's idea of accepting her help was admitting feelings he had never and didn't have, she had a very skewed view of the world. Hermione didn't mean anything to him, not in the way she was suggesting anyway. What good would it do anyone for him to lie and pretend that she did, just because it fit in with Daphne's silly ideas?

With a shrug he set off towards the atrium, hoping to Merlin the Patil girl hadn't gotten to his partner before he could. Daphne may be deluded about many things, but she was right that something would have to be said to Hermione before word got out that everyone knew.

* * *

Hermione had taken to arriving not exactly _late_ for work, but not early either. Being right-on-time suited her as it meant she didn't have to see Theo or try to make awkward conversation with Blaise Zabini, who seemed to know a lot more about her than he was letting on.

So luckily for both her and Draco Malfoy, that Thursday Hermione hurried into the atrium ready to meet with Percy at 9 on the dot, meaning that she didn't notice Padma Patil's excited glances or get a chance to be ambushed by her before the work day began.

She did notice, however, how awkward her partner was behaving that day. He kept giving her nervy sideways glances, and in between those was shooting daggers at Theo Nott who was stood amiably across from the two of them, seemingly not paying a bit of attention.

Hermione frowned slightly at his behaviour and hoped there hadn't been anymore animosity between the two old friends. The situation between Malfoy and the other Slytherins was quite dire, though Pansy had sort of forgiven him after he'd helped her at the weekend, the others still didn't seem to want anything to do with him. Hermione was still wracking her brains on how to rectify that when Percy finished what he was saying and dismissed them to get on with the days work.

Before Hermione had a chance to greet anyone else or ask Malfoy what his problem was that morning, the tall blonde had grabbed her by the elbow and begun to march her out of the department. Hermione was too stunned at the sudden and unexpected physical contact to object or shake him off, and by the time she'd managed to collect herself they were already halfway to the fireplaces.

"What on earth is going on?!" She spluttered, wrestling herself free and stopping to place her hands on her hips in the middle of the corridor. "Have you and Theodore been fighting again?"

Draco looked at her shiftily, his eyes darting back towards the atrium and the corridor as though a foe might appear, wand drawn, any moment.

"No it's nothing like that, I just want to get into it today and I've been a little nervous about it, what with the subject matter and all." He said hastily, turning away from her and motioning for the two of them to get moving once again.

Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously but didn't argue. At the mention of the task at hand her own stomach filled with butterflies. It was a poor excuse that didn't explain his odd behaviour, but it was still a reasonable one. Earlier in the week they had been going over old and misdemeanour charges that could be levelled against Rodolphus Lestrange. In such a difficult case it was important to cover all bases – say, worst case scenario, they were unable to get any murder charges to stick, they would at least be able to get him off the streets with some of the other crimes he had committed long enough to call for a retrial.

They had much more solid evidence linking Lestrange to break ins, thefts and use of prohibited magical artefacts than they did of his more serious crimes. Though Hermione was never one to take the easy road, even she knew that putting him away for those charges was better than letting him back onto the streets. It had only taken them three days to organise the evidence and testimonies for those charges, and that left them with the more serious stuff to deal with.

This was the part of the apprenticeship that she had been dreading. Hermione had known all along that taking on a figure as dangerous and prominent (especially in her own mind) as Lestrange would be challenging, but she had never shied away from a challenge before – something it seemed she and Draco actually had in common as he too was keen to get on with the job. She was surprised that Percy had allowed him to take on Rodolphus, what with the two being related, but supposed that Malfoy hadn't had much contact with his aunt when she was alive (let alone her estranged husband). Also, if it became a rule that relatives couldn't prosecute or defend in the Wizengamot that would rule out almost all pureblood families, as inbred as they were. Clearly the lines were more blurred than she had thought with Percy's decision making.

"Fine." Hermione muttered eventually after pondering his answer for a minute, and decided to let his odd behaviour go for the moment. She followed his lead towards the fireplaces and on to their usual working spot.

* * *

Though Hermione had ordered her usual cappuccino and a rather appetising looking chocolate croissant upon entering their café, that did nothing to appease the nerves roiling around in her stomach as she opened the file with trembling hands to the charges after 'misdemeanour and moderate'.

The large number of remaining sheets of parchment after the cases they had already finished going through and organising gave an inkling of what was yet to come, but Hermione was still unprepared for the brutal and graphic language as she skimmed the first few paragraphs. The pages were organised under the heading 'serious criminal offences', with subheadings of a few words giving an overview of each offence and where and when it had taken place.

The first, and most dreaded, was of course labelled; 'Cockeridge and Barnstaple families, muggles. East London, August 1996'. Hermione felt a shiver go up her spine just reading those simple words. The case was almost made worse by the fact that the brutal end of six people had been reduced to just a paragraph in the long list of Rodolphus Lestrange's criminal activity. It mirrored how the event had been treated in the press also, as it was overshadowed by the death eater attacks on the Brockdale and Millennium Bridges the week after – events which made up the second paragraph of Lestrange's serious criminal offences.

Hermione could remember the week the news had broken all too well, the summer of 1996 had been a dark one. After multiple disappearances of wizards and muggles alike – none of which could be directly linked to Voldemort, but it seemed all too likely – the attack on the two East London families had been the first outright wizarding murder of muggles for a considerable amount of time. It had made everything seem that much more real, but of course the deaths were all but forgotten about when more and more attacks continued, especially with muggle born and half blood disappearances on the rise. Wizards had a lot more to worry about than a few muggle deaths, but Hermione, and probably many other muggle borns across the country, hadn't forgotten.

She took a deep breath and braced herself before reading the incident report that was among the many at the end of the file on Lestrange, it would undoubtedly be even more difficult than she was expecting due to the additional details that had not been released to the press, but even knowing this Hermione was still left reeling at the brutal account before her.

 _The Murders of the Cockeridge and Barnstaple muggle families. Hackney, London, 13th August 1996._

 _On the 14th of August 1996 at 9:08am, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement received a howler notifying them of a possible death eater attack in Hackney, East London. The caller in question was a neighbour and squib, MATTHEWS, Allegra. Several aurors were sent to the scene after this call as a response team led by SCRIMGEOUR, Rufus and WILCOX, Alice._

 _Upon arriving at the scene at 9:34am, the leader of the Auror office (SCRIMGEOUR, Rufus) noted that the muggle police had already preserved the crime scene and as of that hour had not moved any of the victims or the evidence but had taken samples for testing. The team were able to set up a warded perimeter which prevented any muggles from entering, and confounded those who were still at the scene, safely erasing their memories of magical presence._

 _The families afflicted lived in two neighbouring flats, both crime scenes are described below as one event due to the timescale of the murders._

 _FLAT 106;_

 _COCKERIDGE, Jamila – 37 years old, mother of two. Found deceased by police in the family living area at approx. 1:12am after a noise complaint was reported to the muggle authorities. The victim's throat had been cut with her own kitchen knife and she had been tied to the sofa by ropes cast by a 13.5" redwood wand with a dragon heartstring core. Signs of aggressive sexual assault as she was dying were apparent, all this while the victim was under a silencing charm._

 _COCKERIDGE, Lola – 13 years old. Found deceased minutes after her mother by muggle police. The victim was tortured to death and not silenced (possible cause of the noise complaint). She died after clawing out her own eyes under both the imperius and cruciatus curses._

 _COCKERIDGE, Thomas – 7 years old. Found deceased at 1:27am in the family bathroom. The victim had been forced to ingest muggle cleaning products by the perpetrator who used the imperius curse._

 _FLAT 107;_

 _BARNSTAPLE, James – 32 years old. Found having bled to death after being subjected to multiple cutting curses (the muggle authorities could not identify a murder weapon)._

 _BARNSTAPLE, Maria – 28 years old. Found deceased beside her husband in their bed. The victim was tortured to death by use of the cruciatus curse. Signs of aggravated sexual assault similar to Ms. Cockeridge._

 _BARNSTAPLE, Molly – 2 years old. Found deceased in her crib. A victim of the killing curse._

 _All traces of magic cast were cast by the same aforementioned wand; 13.5" redwood wand with a dragon heartstring core, suggesting that there was one magical perpetrator._

Hermione put the piece of parchment back down and took a breath, staring at the table and her shaking hands as Draco gently took it from her and began to read himself. She noted the gasps and the way his brow furrowed as he read, his face turning a shade even lighter than its usual white. She wondered if she had looked as ill while reading the gruesome details.

"It is a terrible case when a child murdered by an Avada Kedavra was the lucky one." He said quietly after reading the report, placing it down as though the paper itself were contaminated. He paused for quite a while, the silence between the two pale-faced rivals uniting them. When he spoke it was in a tone even softer than before. "Why do I not remember hearing about this when it happened?"

Hermione sighed and took a long drink from her cooling coffee, trying to regain her grasp on the normal world after reading such an abhorrent case. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this line of work after all.

"It made headlines but not for very long, before all of the details were fully realised also." She explained sadly. "After that attacks began increasing in frequency and were targeted more towards wizards so…"

"So, it didn't seem as important." Malfoy finished slowly, his frown deepening at the very thought.

Hermione nodded and rubbed the bridge of her nose, suddenly exhausted.

"It wasn't just that though, can't blame everything on the wizarding press." She chuckled sadly before continuing. "I don't know how well you know muggle London, but the Cockeridges and Barnstaples lived in one of the poorest boroughs in one of the worst neighbourhoods. Their deaths made the muggle headlines for around a week after they were killed. Not even that. It was like _nobody_ cared about them."

She let a stray tear slide down her nose without brushing it away, not wanting to draw attention to it, though of course Draco would notice. He was staring at her strangely with those silvery-grey eyes of his, a mixture of curiosity, empathy and something else she couldn't quite read.

"Classism is as much of a vile disease as racism, Granger." He said finally, now avoiding her gaze as he spoke, probably embarrassed due to his own upbringing. "There is no sense in hating or mistreating someone because of the situation life has put them in. It saddens me that wizards and muggles alike can't seem to see that."

Hermione nodded slowly and began to worry at her trembling lip. It was only just gone 10.30 and already she just wanted to go home. Re-living how she had felt when the story of the brutal murder of two muggle families at the hands of a wizard and then reading the gory details so bluntly put in just a few lines was making her feel sick, but it was more than that.

Hermione Granger was tired. She thought of how long she had fought for the freedom of the people around her, for her own freedom, and the things she had sacrificed. She thought of how her best friend had been self-medicating with alcohol for years to deal with the trauma of being close to Voldemort and his lackies, and how many innocent and brave souls had been lost to his cause. She wondered if there would ever come a time when she could stop fighting. When she could sit back and accept that she had done her bit, that those evil people would not touch her ever again. In that moment more than any other in the several years of peace following the war, Hermione Granger felt defeated.

"Don't let reading this dissuade you Granger." Draco Malfoy began, his voice powerful and angry. Hermione looked up at him in surprise, awoken from her dark thoughts. It was as though he had read her mind. "Let it empower you. These people received no justice in life and certainly none in their terrible deaths. Let prosecuting this vile man and having him put away for life be the justice they deserve. Let them be properly remembered through the end of Rodolphus Lestrange."

Hermione looked into his vibrant, silver eyes and managed a weak smile. He was right, and the definitive way in which he had spoken had actually made her feel a little more confident. They needed to make this man pay for what he had done, to the two families they had just read about and to countless others, including (to a lesser extent of course), herself. Though the battle felt endless at the moment, she knew that this was because people like Lestrange were still essentially free. The day every last one of them was brought to justice would be the day the war would truly end, and she also knew that it was in her dirty, impure blood to be part of the force that ended it.

No longer would she live in fear of Rodolphus Lestrange or what he had done. It was time he atoned for his reign of terror.

* * *

Draco Malfoy left the ministry after dropping off some notes on his and Hermione's progress to Percy Weasley and bristled in the cool mid-October air. He felt ill, and he wasn't sure exactly why. There were so many thoughts and problems roiling around in his head it was difficult to focus on even one of them.

The case was terrible. If possible, even worse than he had anticipated. Of course he had heard first-hand what death eaters did to their victims, he had also witnessed his fair share of unforgiveables, but to read in such blunt words what one of his own relations had done to two families was something else. He also knew that things could only get worse. His mother had been right to warn him about Rodolphus Lestrange, reading about his crimes and remembering the mad glint in his eye had led Draco to consider what his dear old Uncle might do to him if he got the chance.

But of course it was more than all of that. He had seen how hard the first charge had hit Hermione, and that had shaken him. Seeing her that vulnerable brought out a different side in him, one he was most definitely not used to experiencing. He thought back on earlier that day in the café when he'd watched that glistening tear trickle down her button nose leaving a snail trail over her freckles, how he'd felt the overwhelming urge to help.

He sighed and rubbed his face angrily as he strolled through the cold streets of muggle London, deciding to delay getting home while he thought. Draco Malfoy did not _help_ , he was not a helpful person. It was unfathomable that such an irritating, insatiable and over-emotional witch would ignite such a response from him, and yet it had happened. He had tried to pull her out of the pit, something he had never been able to do even for himself. Why did he care so much what Hermione Granger was thinking?

Draco's mind turned to the next in his long list of problems, and he actually winced at the thought of it. He had of course, failed to tell Hermione about what was going on with Theodore Nott. _Obviously_ it had seemed ludicrous to drop such a bombshell on her after she had almost had a mental break down in the middle of a café, so he had reasoned he would just tell her later on. But after Hermione had recovered slightly and even nibbled at her croissant, the conversation turned to courtroom strategy and what the defence would be planning, and they had chattered and planned for several hours.

By the end of their working day Hermione was howling over his Geoffrey impression, wiping tears of a much lighter nature away from her glittery amber eyes and telling him he was; "simply awful, just too _too_ bad Mr Malfoy!" That had made him smile too.

It had seemed wrong to tell her in that moment as well, he theorised as he strolled past the first of the sparkling Christmas shopfronts, because she would have thought he'd been _lying_ the entire day. Trying to keep something from her only in order to drop it on her at the last minute, smirk, and walk away - classic Draco Malfoy.

At the time he hadn't told her because for some reason he couldn't imagine wiping that smile off of her face, a smile he was nearly certain he hadn't seen except when she'd been around Weasley and Potter at school. This was a dangerous thought and Draco Malfoy knew it. He did not want to fall back into the trap of his strange _interest_ in Hermione that had gotten him into such a mess in the first place. It didn't matter if she was smiling, it didn't matter if she thought he was an arse. In fact it was probably better that way.

He shook his head as he rounded a corner and made sure it was safe to disapparate home without being spotted, blowing on his hands to warm them before he made his move to leave.

There was no real reason he hadn't told her about Theo. He decided, ignoring the strange signs and odd reactions she had managed to probe from him that day with nothing more than a few little tears. It just hadn't been the right moment to tell her, that was all.

Draco Malfoy nodded, agreeing with himself mutely as he spun on his heel and disappeared with a crack. He only hoped that Padma Patil could sit on a secret for the next 24 hours, or maybe even the weekend. Though this hope, he feared, was a wasted one.

* * *

 **Woop! Bit more emotional Malfoy for you ;)**

 **I hope the description of the case wasn't too much, I'm not planning to write in any real detail any more of Rodolphus Lestrange's crimes, so I wanted to give a good idea of how terrible this man is and how much that affects Hermione :)**

 **I quite enjoyed writing this chapter as I like the constant internal turmoil of Draco Malfoy ;) though I did miss Pansy a bit hahahha**

 **Anyway, let me know if you/or anyone you know is a good beta and wouldn't mind helping me out, and please feel free to leave me some comments! I love your feedback :)**

 **Thanks guys xo**


	23. The Press

**I'm back! Hope there's still some people wanting to read :')**

 **Sorry for the ridiculous break, it turns out a 9-5 job + social life is unbelievably tiring, but I've been re-bitten by the writing bug and I want to get things on the road again (including reading! So if I'm enjoying one of your fics at the moment expect a few reviews shortly ;))**

 **Anyway we're getting to a good bit if I do say so myself, I can't wait for what the current chapters are going to bring and I have quite a bit planned, BUT I am posting this on a work night so excuse any mistakes! ;'D**

 **Thanks for still reading, hope this is a good return :)**

* * *

 ** _Previously..._**

 _There was no real reason he hadn't told her about Theo. He decided, ignoring the strange signs and odd reactions she had managed to probe from him that day with nothing more than a few little tears. It just hadn't been the right moment, that was all._

 _Draco Malfoy nodded, agreeing with himself mutely as he spun on his heel and disappeared with a crack. He only hoped that Padma Patil could sit on a secret for the next 24 hours, or maybe even the weekend. Though this hope, he feared, was wasted._

It was Saturday when the shit really hit the fan.

For the first time in quite a while Hermione Granger decided to allow herself a lie in, turning off her alarm clock before she settled into bed on the Friday night, blissfully unaware of what was in store for her over the next few days.

She went to sleep in a surprisingly good mood. It seemed that finally things were quietening down. Pansy had so far succeeded in her mission to swear off men and had also chatted to Hermione about the possibility of sitting down with Ron, so they could talk things through – it all seemed very civilised which was unusual for her two most hot-headed friends.

Ginny and Harry were once again going from strength to strength, with Harry throwing himself into his wife's pregnancy and doting on her hand and foot (something Ginny liked to say she found irritating, but it was blatantly obvious she loved it).

Hermione had also enjoyed her first week working with Draco Malfoy far more than she anticipated she would. It turned out the two of them had a good rhythm, they were both hard workers and incredibly focused, but found time to chat in between the rolls of parchment and unpleasant reading. It was strange to think how much had changed in a week, almost as though the intense and dramatic events of the previous weekend (Draco's confessions to her outside the restaurant, her nasty visit to Malfoy Manor) had settled things between them somewhat. Like they had opened up to one another for the first time and shown vulnerability.

Hermione felt herself understanding Draco Malfoy, as though she was finally peering behind the curtain and seeing more layers to his personality than the arrogant, immature man she had assumed he was. Though she was loathe to admit it, there was also something of a spark between them.

She had begun to notice how she jolted when their hands touched by accident over a scroll, how frequently she found herself staring at his lips and remembering the times in the past when they had been on her own. This was something Hermione had decided to keep to herself (despite her, Ginny and Pansy's renewed pledge to tell each other absolutely anything), mostly because she did still believe Pansy was right. There was no logical way something more than the shaky friendship she had built could develop between her and Malfoy – the situation was too complex.

She did however disagree with Pansy's argument that there was nothing she could do to help him. Hermione Granger did not like to be told what she could and couldn't do and had a great amount of faith in her own ability to assist other people. Her mind was whirring almost constantly (when she wasn't thinking about the case of course) of ways she could begin to sway the other Slytherins and persuade them to forgive him. This, she was convinced, would go some way towards stopping that desolate emptiness creeping into his silvery eyes when he was alone in his thoughts for too long.

She had almost completely forgotten about her troubles with the likes of Penelope Clearwater and Geoffrey Fatherington she was so preoccupied with thoughts of Malfoy and the troublesome Slytherins – and this oversight was something she would go on to regret.

Hermione had remained solidly out of the press since her break up with Ron (which made headlines for around a week, shockingly). Ginny and Harry had always received the most attention, particularly as their relationship was something the public never got tired of hearing about – the magical happy ending for the Boy who Lived.

The shittier tabloids (lower on the rung than _Witch Weekly_ even) kept up a flow of inane news about most of their lives, but it was all rubbish and very rarely held any information of any significance.

Therefore to say Hermione Granger was shocked upon having the Saturday paper thrust upon her by her roommate as soon as she sat down for breakfast was an understatement.

"Has the world gone mad?" Hermione asked with a grin as she thoughtlessly tossed _The Prophet_ aside, not gauging the serious atmosphere as she was still quite drowsy. "I can't believe you're up before me – and on a _Saturday_?!"

When Pansy didn't respond but simply picked up the paper from where Hermione had unceremoniously flung it the brunette began to realise something was afoot.

"What is it? Have some of your investments gone bad?" She asked curiously, slightly concerned due to the pallid and uncomfortable expression her best friend was sporting.

Pansy sat down with a sigh and pushed a mug of black coffee towards her, not breaking eye contact.

"You're going to need this. In fact, by the time you've had a look at _The Prophet_ you're probably going to need something a lot stronger."

Hermione's mind went into overdrive, every awful possibility ranging from the deaths of her parents to the escape of Rodolphus Lestrange was flicking through her brain at a mile a minute. Once she took the paper from Pansy's outstretched hand and read the headline however, the one thing she hadn't been anticipating caused her jaw to hit the floor. She didn't want to think of it as worse than the other alternatives, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

" _Opposites Attract! War Heroine Hermione Granger linked with ex Death Eater Draco Malfoy. Is our Granger in Danger? Or could this be the wizarding world's Romeo and Juliet_?"

They both sat in silence for a few minutes as Hermione struggled to comprehend what she was reading, her eyes wide with shock and horror as she read and reread the salacious title.

Below that it got even worse, with a picture of her and Draco sat in their coffee shop, both of them laughing raucously over and over on a tantalising loop. She could see the way her hand reached out to steady herself and accidentally brushed against his. It had been a private moment that had replayed in her mind over the past few days, and now it was splashed over the front page of the wizarding world's favourite rag.

"How did they know?" Hermione finally spoke, her voice thin and reedy.

Pansy sighed and put her head in her hands before replying.

"I really have no idea, I haven't even had the chance to read the full article yet, the paper only came a few moments ago." She said softly, extending a hand to touch Hermione's – a rare and considerate gesture from the woman who usually avoided unnecessary human contact.

Hermione's eyes scanned the double page spread. It was riddled with lies (obviously) and several more photos clearly taken out of context, but she tried her best to ignore those factors and focus on what might give her a clue as to who had talked. She could already feel herself getting angry, but wanted to postpone her inevitable fit until her brain had had a chance to figure out what to do.

"Listen to this," She said after a few moments, "" _Our inside source at the ministry tells us that there has been clear sexual tension between the two even before their first kiss at Hermione Granger's birthday party last month. They wished to remain anonymous but stated that Malfoy was 'borderline obsessed' with Granger from the get-go. Another source close to the pair told us that Granger was 'keen to get in his good books… and Godric knows where else!' Our reporters have reached out to the pair for comments._ ""

"What the fuck." Pansy exclaimed, ripping the paper from Hermione's hands to go over the comments she had just read out. "Well now we know that there's two rats and at least one of them works in the ministry."

Hermione nodded, she had remained astoundingly cool so far, possibly because a part of her had assumed that this would inevitably get out. But that didn't stop her wanting to find the pair who had leaked the news to the press and hex them into oblivion.

"My first thought is Blaise and Theo, but I just don't want to believe that they would do this. I know I must have hurt Theo's feelings, but this doesn't seem his style at all."

Pansy was already fervently shaking her head.

"I know Theo, I spoke to him the other day actually. He's obviously not overjoyed about how it ended but he understands why it did. I don't think either of them would stoop this low."

Hermione nodded, not completely convinced though she did see Pansy's point. This really didn't seem like Theo's style, certainly not Blaise's.

"What are you going to do?" Pansy asked nervously, toying with her hair that was still damp from her morning shower.

Hermione sighed, she could feel the rage bubbling beneath the surface now that she had had enough time to get over the shock of what had happened. And it was a lot of rage.

"I don't even know where to start. I'm not going to _any_ of the fucking press with this, I know well enough by now that they don't listen when you give them the truth – they just want a story." This she had learnt the hard way since the end of the war. She had always known the _Daily Prophet_ was a rag but had seen through the way they'd treated her and her friends post-war just how gossip hungry the press were.

"I need to do some damage control though. Maybe speak to Ginny for advice but I think she'll just be furious and not much help. Obviously, I have to speak to Malfoy about this, and inevitably Theo too just in case."

She groaned and dropped her head into her hands miserably.

"This whole thing is a fucking mess." Pansy commented dryly. "But out of interest, why _have_ you two been spending so much time together?"

Hermione hissed through her teeth, she couldn't help but be irritated by Pansy's question even though the witch had a right to ask.

"We're bloody partners on a case we've been working on together. God this is so infuriating, I just want to go back to bed."

Pansy shrugged and took a sip from her mug of coffee.

"I mean, that might actually be the best way forward. It's not like you can really do anything about it today or even tomorrow unless you want to go to Draco's house," At this Hermione sat bolt upright and shook her head vehemently. "Well then, that doesn't really leave you with many options. Everyone you need to confront about this you'll see in the office on Monday."

Hermione sighed. She knew Pansy was right, but she also desperately wanted answers right that moment.

"I suppose so. I wish I could just know who it was - and not bring it into my job if I can help it."

"Oh sweetie, this was in the workplace as soon as Theo asked you out on that date." Pansy pointed out.

Then, as if by magic, Hermione's phone rang. It was the only good fortune to come out of that morning, seeing Ginny's name on the caller ID.

"Right, I'm actually not calling to bitch about how shit the _Prophet_ is," Ginny began, completely abandoning pleasantries which Hermione didn't chastise her for in light of the situation. "I'm calling because I've got answers."

Pansy leant forward, intrigued, and Hermione put the phone on speaker in between them.

"What do you mean Gin? Do you know something?"

"Well actually Ron knows something." Pansy bristled at the mention of her former lover's name but did not react otherwise. Hermione guessed it still must be too fresh despite their attempts to be civil. "He's already left Pans if you're there, so don't worry about that, but he rushed over here this morning as soon as the paper came. He looked so sweaty it would have been _funny_ any other day to be honest, I think he might have run some of the way,"

Hermione winced as their friend rambled and took the executive decision to cut her off. Desperate times called for desperate measures, including in this case the absence of phone etiquette.

"Ginny with all due respect, please just tell me what Ron knows."

Pansy held back a grin as Ginny muttered a swear word under her breath but abided by Hermione's request.

"He got a call from Penelope Clearwater this morning," At this, Pansy actively snarled. "She rang him up and said he'd want to go out and get himself a copy of the _Prophet_ if he didn't have one on the way, she said something really interesting was going to be on the front page."

Hermione's only reaction for a few moments was simply to close her eyes and take a deep breath. If anything, this was far worse than Theo snapping and deciding to go to the papers – she had actually hurt Theo. All she had done to Penelope Clearwater was ruin her date with Draco Malfoy – a date that would have ended up in him using her for sex and nothing more anyway. But because of that action, Penelope had decided to ruin Hermione's reputation.

"I _hate_ her." Was all she managed to say after what seemed like a ridiculously long silence. Pansy once again reached out a hand to comfort her flat mate, nodding in agreement.

"It's alright Hermione," The raven-haired witch said in a surprisingly calm voice, "Honestly I was looking for a good reason to shit her up and this definitely justifies it, can't wait to pull some of her bottle blonde hair out."

Hermione managed to crack a smile at Pansy's harsh comments which were made even more amusing by how sweetly she spoke them, but her mirth was short lived.

"It gets worse." Ginny interrupted, and Hermione turned her attention back to the phone. "You probably know after reading the article that there was someone else involved, Ron noticed that too and basically pestered her about it until she gave up being coy and told him."

Ginny paused for an unbearable moment before eventually revealing what her brother had found out.

"Hermione it was that guy you work with, the annoying one. Apparently, you embarrassed him on a date or something, he was pretty fucked off about it."

At this, Hermione's patience withered and died. She leapt up from her seat, knocking her untouched coffee flying, her hair almost crackling with rage.

"It was a FUCKING WORK DINNER." She screamed, causing Pansy to nearly fall out of her chair. "I told him off for being a prick at a _work dinner_ , so he decides to talk shit about me to the press?! I don't believe this I honestly don't believe it."

She placed a trembling hand to her forehead as silence fell between the three of them, the only noise Hermione's ragged breathing as she tried to calm down.

"I mean if it's any help I'm pretty sure I can figure out where he lives?" Ginny said eventually, causing Pansy to shake her head dramatically as though their friend could see them through the blackberry.

Hermione however was not looking to find and castrate Geoffrey Fatherington, not at that time anyway.

"No Ginny it's alright. Pansy was saying earlier that I can settle this at work and she's right. Though there's nothing I hate more than bringing drama into the workplace, it's the only time I can guarantee seeing the both of them."

And Malfoy, she added silently, wincing at the very thought of speaking to him. She was furious, and even though she knew it was illogical (it took two to Tango as her mother would say) she felt some of that anger was directed towards the elusive blonde.

This wouldn't be a problem for him, and if anything she was jealous. Hell, he might even enjoy the attention – corrupting the golden girl was probably something Draco Malfoy would heartily take on as a title.

"Ok then," Ginny replied, and Hermione heard the note of disappointment in her voice and managed a weak smile. Ginny was always raring for a fight. "If you're sure, I could come in and back you up if you like? Might be quite nice to throw a few hexes at Penelope Clearwater's smarmy face."

Hermione snorted but Pansy once again reacted as though the red headed witch could see her, leaping up from her chair and pointing dramatically at the small plastic phone.

"Don't you dare Ginny Weasley, first off we all know Penelope Clearwater wouldn't be above hurting a pregnant woman. More importantly I already called scratching the bitches eyes out."

Hermione let out a half-hearted laugh and gestured for Pansy to sit down, cutting off Ginny as she ranted about the efficacy of her bat bogey hex over Pansy trying to physically fight the Clearwater woman before they got too heated.

"Alright thanks for all your help Gin," She said with another sigh, feeling sorry for herself now that her initial anger had dissipated somewhat. Just when she had thought the drama was coming to an end. "If you have the time pop by later, it would be good to see you and have a moan."

Ginny murmured something sympathetic before agreeing to swing by their flat if she had a spare moment. Hermione knew that Saturday was usually when the Potters took James out to the park or out for a spin on his tiny broomstick, and secretly hoped Ginny would just bring her adorable son with her to cheer her up a bit.

It was only a few minutes after they had hung up the phone and Pansy had given Hermione a rather half-hearted hug when the doorbell rang. Both women gave it an ominous look. Pansy was already on high alert with her wand drawn as she headed towards the peephole.

"If that's the press tell them to kindly fuck off." Hermione muttered, slumping back down in her seat, at a loss at what to do next.

She only looked up when Pansy drew in a sharp breath in surprise, dreading what her flat mate would say as she turned around and faced her, biting her lip nervously.

"Well it's not the press, but it's still probably one of the last people you want to see right now."

Hermione groaned, realising that as Pansy hadn't thrown open the door and began firing hexes it could only be _one_ person.

"I know you're in there Granger, and you'd better open the fucking door so we can discuss what's going on."

 _What a terrible time for Draco Malfoy to arrive_ , Hermione thought bleakly.

* * *

The Malfoy heir had awoken that morning in a mood almost as chipper as his partners, partly because he was not hungover for the first time in as long as he could remember on a Saturday, but mostly because of how his week had gone.

Draco Malfoy had unexpectedly begun to break down Hermione Granger's walls. It was something he had never expected to happen, he had dreaded working with her from the moment Percy Weasley had announced their assignments, expecting snide comments about his past or the odd jibe at his mother. He had never been so happy to be wrong in his life.

And so that Saturday morning he had woken up at nine (almost unheard of for him) and strolled towards his kitchen whistling as he went, deciding to cook his own breakfast instead of calling for his house elf (who he was pretty sure was spying on him for the Malfoy Matriarch anyway) – another very unusual feat.

It was times like this, times when he felt so far from himself and everything he hated to think about, that he didn't mind being alone. Usually it was painful for him to embrace his solitude. It was one of the things he was quite conflicted about. On the one hand, solitude and isolation were a small price to pay for the crimes and sadness he had inflicted on others, Hermione in particular came to mind there. But on the other, part of him wanted to believe he deserved better. That he had done his time and paid for his errors.

But that Saturday morning Draco Malfoy wasn't troubling himself with such matters, instead focusing on making scrambled eggs on toast without burning anything too badly.

That was until, just like Hermione Granger would an hour later, reality came and smacked him in the face. Quite literally as it turned out, but this was because Mopsy was a particularly enthusiastic elf.

Draco jumped at the loud crack as his elf appeared un-summoned, and then flinched as a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ hit him in the forehead.

" ** _Ow_** , Merlin Mopsy what was that about? And what are you even doing here? I thought I told you to stay away until you could stop feeding mother lies about my wellbeing." He snapped irritably, waving the paper to the floor eerily similarly to how his colleague would a short time later.

"Master is wanting to be reading this, yes he is yes he is!" Mopsy chattered anxiously, picking up the discarded paper and thrusting it towards the irritated wizard once again.

Draco had been about to fling the blasted rag straight into his recycling, but his eyes caught the headline before he could do so, and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

"No." He breathed, eggs forgotten as he straightened out the rumpled broadsheet and stared in disbelief at the front page. "This can't be happening, this can't be fucking happening."

As he stared at the picture of him and Hermione touching hands, laughing at some rubbish joke he had made (probably at Fatherington's expense), he realised that this would have serious repercussions. His mother, for one, was probably getting ready to floo over right away – and his father would start up his vile letters once again when Azkaban caught wind of the rumours - possibly even harassing Granger herself if he could get ahold of her.

But all he could think of in that moment was Hermione. How he had decided not to tell her about Theo and his rumour spreading before it was too late. How he had thought Padma Patil and Godric knew whoever else would keep their mouths shut. How he had put his own selfish wants above her right to know what was being said about her.

His eyes scanned the text, wincing at the hyperbolic language and ridiculous assumptions, trying not to think too much about what a shit storm all that would cause. His gaze focussed however on the mention of the sources who had clearly gone to the _Prophet_ for their five minutes of fame, or possibly to ignite something more sinister.

He slammed the paper down on the table, spilling his black coffee over the picture of the two of them laughing and hoping that it melted the rag to a messy pulp. In that moment he was at a loss of what to do next. Draco didn't know who to call, who to bother so that he could find out the culprits.

His first thought had of course been Theo, but even with Theo's increasingly vindictive behaviour recently he very much doubted the man had gone to the press. Theo abhorred the _Daily Prophet_ and everyone who worked for it, most of his friends did, and also would not want to be publicly humiliated – Hermione had essentially cheated on him after all.

Obviously, that didn't rule him out completely, but Draco figured he could wait and find out more information before he came after Theo guns a-blazing.

His next thought led to him rushing up the stairs in search of that irritating little device his friends and co-workers insisted on using, figuring it would be the fastest way to reach the only person who would actually be willing to help him.

"Daphne?!" He shouted at the small plastic block while the dial tone was still humming but was relieved when eventually his friend responded.

"Draco I was wondering if I should call you, who do you think it was?" She asked, launching straight into the matter at hand. Normally Draco would have chastised her for abandoning pleasantries, but now was not the time.

"I don't fucking know, I would like to think it wasn't Theo, Blaise or the Patil girl due to their respective ties to me and Hermione, but honestly it could be anyone." He replied exasperatedly running a hand through his sleep-tousled hair.

"Well I'll investigate as much as I can today, obviously Astoria and Ginny Weasley are really good friends, so she might be able to tell us something, then there's Pansy as well."

Draco was barely listening as she listed off all of her possible gossip sources and was instead staring at himself in the mirror in surprise. He looked well rested, possibly for the first time in years. His skin didn't have that sallow, papery quality it had taken on after months of drinking and insomnia, and it looked as though his smile lines were deepening while his worry lines faded away.

It was because of her, he knew it. Because of how she had almost forgiven him and let him back into her life when he had convinced himself he could never be worthy of such an act. He had told himself for four years that he could never be given another chance, not by her or anyone else. And now it was all going to be over.

"I have to speak to Hermione." He spluttered, throwing open his wardrobe as he held the mobile phone in place with his shoulder, searching for anything that was clean.

"Well yes I'd say that's on the list of priorities, she's going to be pretty upset but she must have guessed this could happen eventually, especially with Theo's behaviour recently."

Draco didn't even bother trying to explain that he hadn't actually _told_ Hermione what Theo had been up to, that he hadn't wanted to wipe the smile off her face that had appeared more and more frequently in recent days.

That he hadn't wanted to make her hate him again.

Daphne seemed to get all of that from his awkward silence anyway.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" She asked grimly as Draco struggled to pull on his trousers while still keeping the phone under his ear. "For Merlin's sake Draco Malfoy what were you thinking? She's going to be furious with you, not to mention far more upset than she would have been if you'd just _let her know_ what was going on."

"I didn't want to upset her, alright?" Draco snapped back, dropping the phone onto his bed for a moment while he pulled a shirt over his head. "The case is a lot for her to deal with, but she seemed to be finally getting more confident and secure,"

"For fuck's sake Draco I already _knew_ you felt this way about her!" Daphne hollered, causing him to wince and stare at the mobile with distaste. "And just like I told you on Thursday, if you continue to keep lying to yourself and to her it's only going to make things _worse_. For both of you! She's going to think you lied to her, that you wanted this to get out."

"She won't think that." Draco retorted, but he knew that Daphne was right, the very words had caused his stomach to twist into knots. He had to apologise and explain what was going on before she let that brain of hers create an alternative truth.

"I can't have this argument with you right know, you know I'm right." Daphne replied as though she had read his mind. God, he hated how intuitive she was sometimes. "The issue is now how do you fix it. Because you can't just go storming over to her and Pansy's and scare the living daylights out of them."

Draco licked his lips nervously as he ran a hand through his hair. That had been exactly what he was planning on doing.

"I just need to speak to her. I need to explain what was going on with Theo and why I didn't tell her as soon as I knew."

"Do you really think now is the best time to do that? You're furious Draco, I can hear it in your voice. It'll only make things worse." Daphne warned, but though she couldn't see him her cautions were wasted. Draco Malfoy was already grabbing his coat.

He never listened to Daphne anyway.

* * *

 **Wooo I love a Draco who is finally confronting his feelings! (Well, maybe a little bit, he is rather stubborn after all!)**

 **Again sorry if there's any mistakes in this chapter, I've tried really hard to edit but I am fast asleep!**

 **More importantly, what do you think is going to happen now? What will Hermione's reaction be? When will either of them get their hands on the snitches!**

 **Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, sorry it came so late! See you (hopefully) next week :)**


	24. The Change

**Oof so I guess my 'see you next week' was a (very) long shot?!**

 **I'm so sorry ahahah, had multiple mental breakdowns, a break up and a lot of uni work to do in the gap that I've been gone but I've realised how much writing this was a lovely hobby for me and so I want to get back into it now.**

 **Anyway, I hope there are still some of you here to read this chapter and if not that's ok! I think I'll just keep writing and uploading for myself anyhow :)**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's one of my favourites so far x**

* * *

 _ **Previously...**_

 _"If that's the press tell them to kindly fuck off." Hermione muttered, slumping back down in her seat, at a loss at what to do next._

 _She only looked up when Pansy drew in a sharp breath in surprise, dreading what her flat mate would say as she turned around and faced her, biting her lip nervously._

 _"Well it's not the press, but it's still probably one of the last people you want to see right now."_

 _Hermione groaned, realising that as Pansy hadn't thrown open the door and began firing hexes it could only be one person._

 _"I know you're in there Granger, and you'd better open the fucking door so we can discuss what's going on."_

 _What a terrible time for Draco Malfoy to arrive, Hermione thought bleakly._

"Oh fuck off Draco!" Pansy yelled back, not even giving Hermione the chance to respond.

The other witch was conflicted. She didn't want to see him in that moment, and was certain that they would only argue, but she also knew that they needed to discuss what would happen next.

Hermione at that moment wanted nothing more than to go to her parents house in muggle London and remove herself from her responsibilities at work and with her friends, but she was also not someone who ran from problems or tried to ignore them. She faced them straight on, she was the smartest witch of her age after all.

He was still hammering away at the door, and Pansy was looking at her best friend at a complete loss of what to do next while the brunette chewed her lip and considered her options.

Eventually Hermione decided. It wasn't going to be easy, but then again, she couldn't remember the last time life had been easy since she'd gotten a letter delivered by owl at the age of eleven.

"Pansy I think you should go."

The darker haired witch doubled back, mouth gawping as the banging finally stopped. It seemed Draco Malfoy had excellent hearing.

"Are you joking? I thought we _just_ said you weren't going to deal with this today?" She pointed out incredulously, but Hermione had already made up her mind.

"I know what I said and it's probably a mistake, but equally it's one less person I have to shout at at work on Monday." She groaned at the thought, hoping she could corner Geoffrey and Penelope to avoid making a scene in front of someone important and wondering how on earth she had managed to make so many enemies in such a short amount of time. "Besides, we're partners. This has to be solved, it's not like I can go to Percy on Monday and ask to switch cases – how unprofessional would that be?"

The look on Pansy's face told Hermione that she disagreed with or didn't care about any of the reasons she had just given, but it was technically Hermione's flat and she was going to choose her own house guests.

"Go to Ginny's or something, better yet, go to Ron's. Maybe the two of you can figure out what's going on between you and that can be another issue nipped in the bud."

In response her flatmate flipped her the middle finger but stopped arguing, hurrying into her room to grab a pair of shoes before she made her way out of the flat via the fireplace. Pansy and Hermione had been friends for long enough to realise when one of them wasn't going to budge on a matter, and it was clear that the frizzy haired witch had made her mind up.

Hermione took a deep breath as soon as Pansy's sour face had vanished and moved to open the front door, her heart already beating faster at the prospect of having to face this momentous issue head on with someone she had only just begun to tolerate.

He looked dishevelled, but despite that strangely better than usual. He didn't have the heavy, morose dark circles that usually accompanied his bright silver eyes, and his skin looked more alive than it had in months.

They stood awkwardly staring at each other for a few minutes in silence, before Hermione stepped aside and gestured for him to come in.

"Do you know if anyone from the press saw you come over here?" Hermione asked nervously. Although she also knew that the location of her home had been kept surprisingly well hidden over the years since the war, it was obviously very risky for the two of them to be meeting when they were the current focus of the wizarding world.

Draco shook his head and hung up his coat by the door. It was almost November now, and there was a definite chill in the air. Hermione flicked her wand in the direction of the fireplace once she noted his slight shiver and pretended not to notice his nod of gratitude at the gesture.

"I want to start by telling you that I promise I had nothing to do with it."

He seemed strangely desperate, Hermione couldn't help but think, as though it were imperative that she believe what he was saying. Hermione found it equally strangely that she _wanted_ to believe him. The past few days working with him had been surprisingly enjoyable, she had seen a side of him she hadn't thought existed – a man who would assist her with her friendship drama and console her over the crimes of one of his own relatives. Some part of her hoped that he had learnt to appreciate her company and advice as well. However, her anger won out in the brief emotional struggle in her head before she replied.

"Well you _were_ actually Malfoy, in case you don't recall, you kissed me."

He flinched at her bitter tone, but the pained reaction was short lived and barely noticed, only to be replaced by his own temper.

"I think we both know that it takes more than one person to have a snog Granger." He snapped back. In his head Draco knew that rising to her anger was the wrong thing to do. They were both anxious and upset, being as reactive as she was in that moment was a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, he was rather reactive himself.

"That's entirely different." Hermione squawked, already regretting inviting him in. "I kissed you because I was drunk, _you_ kissed me because you wanted to ruin my reputation."

Draco ran a hand through his mop of blonde hair and let out a frustrated groan.

"It was never about that Granger for Merlin's sake; how many times do I have to say it?" He noticed the confusion in her amber eyes and immediately regretted contesting that point. Everything really was so much easier when he was closed off and didn't let anyone perceive his emotions.

"Well what was it about then?" She asked awkwardly. She had always just assumed, regardless of how well they now seemed to be getting on, that Malfoy had kissed her both times because he had enjoyed the idea of messing with her relationships. There wasn't really another logical reason that she could see for him doing it.

Hermione watched, intrigued as Draco Malfoy blushed, actually blushed, before stammering his response.

"I don't know, you're not _horrible_ looking I suppose… I was also in a bad way on both occasions." He rubbed his angular jaw anxiously before changing the subject. "But that's not the point, the point is that whoever decided to go to the Prophet with this, they did it behind _both_ our backs – it wasn't just you who was outed today Granger."

Hermione wasn't sure what to do with the implications of what he had just said but decided to file away his comments for a later time – maybe she could even repeat them to Pansy and ask her for advice.

"Do you not know who it was?" She asked with a frown but realised as soon as his eyebrows shot up at the implication of her reply that there was no real way he _could've_ known – she had gotten all her information from the Weasleys and it wasn't like he was in their phonebook.

"No of course not," He exclaimed irritably, throwing his hands in the air and glaring at her in a way reminiscent of their schooldays. "I woke up this morning to the paper and came around here to speak to you, how the fuck would I already know who it was?"

"Alright, alright well if you stop shouting for a few minutes and let me get a word in I'll tell you." Hermione chastised, which caused him to smirk. Typical Granger, turning everything into a lecture. "It seems the both of us have made a few enemies so far during our apprenticeships, I probably shouldn't have insulted Gregory in a restaurant full of wizarding elites, and _you_ probably shouldn't have ditched Penelope Clearwater."

Draco's jaw dropped, his mind reeling at the information he'd been given in the past few seconds. He'd known it had been a bad idea to treat the Clearwater girl so badly, especially since he also knew that she wasn't stupid and had an ego that rivalled any Slytherin he'd ever known. The witch had clearly put her smarts to use and decided to kill two birds with one stone, piss him off and also upset Hermione. Gregory's motives however were more confusing.

"Why do you think Fatherington went to the press?" He asked, trying to skate over the matter of Penelope Clearwater entirely. He didn't really want to go into that messy affair, it hadn't been one of his better decisions and he was also pretty sure Hermione knew he had only dated Clearwater to get under her skin.

Hermione shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I was thinking about that. I suppose it could have been pride, his took quite a hit when I shouted at him in that busy restaurant." She flushed at the memory and moved on as quickly as possible, not wanting to bring up the night when she had essentially jeopardised their case for Malfoy's sake. "He also doesn't like _you_ very much obviously."

Draco nodded thoughtfully, chewing a loose nail on his left hand – a terrible habit he didn't seem to be able to kick.

"I _did_ think he had a bit of a thing for you actually Granger," He mused, causing the witch to splutter in surprise. "Oh calm down I'm not saying you have some sort of irresistible charm, but a nice arse and a good reputation go a long way for wizards like him – not to mention the fame as obviously he's a social climber."

Hermione was rendered speechless by his comments and stood gaping at him like a fish. It wasn't so much what he'd said that was so surprising, she too had found Gregory a little leachy and keen on her, and she also knew she had an attractive bottom (Pansy told her several times a day). It was just the fact that _he_ had said them. That he thought those things about her as well.

"It seems we've both made some mistakes and as a result these people have decided to have their revenge." He commented, pushing Hermione's buttons yet again and distracting her from her thoughts before she could ask any awkward questions.

"Well, I would call sleeping with and humiliating a nasty vindictive witch a mistake, I wouldn't put correcting someone's table manners on that level." She retorted. Draco looked up from his fingernails and narrowed his eyes, resentful that all the blame was being pushed onto him.

"You did a little more than that Granger," He growled, standing up straight as she glared back at him. "You essentially butted in and scolded him over something that was nothing to do with you, it was probably like his mother was in the room."

At that Hermione's eyes seemed to glow hot gold, piercing him like the sword of Gryffindor itself. 'Stop acting like my mother' had been one of Ron's favourite lines when they had been together, a complaint he would whip out pretty much whenever she asked him to do something. She had detested it, the way it made her feel like an unwanted nag, and it was definitely high on the list of things Draco Malfoy should _not_ have said in that moment.

"Well I'm _sorry_ for defending you because someone's prejudice was dragging you back down to that pit you keep letting yourself fall into." She hissed, feeling a slight stab of guilt as he lurched away in shock, but not enough to make her stop talking. "All I've been trying to do is help you. I see that you're struggling and that you won't let anyone in, not even your own mother, and the thanks I get is _this_?! For telling someone to stop treating you like shit and judging you on your past?"

Draco's fist slammed down on the marble counter top so hard that Hermione was certain his fingers would break.

"Why do you persist in meddling in my affairs when I never so much as fucking _mentioned_ anything you're babbling on about to you? Remind me when I fucking asked for your help or begged you to come to my aid when pricks like Fatherington decide to give their shitty opinion?" He bellowed. Hermione shrank back a little in fear but jutted her chin out at him defiantly, trying not to show any weakness. "You have no right, no _fucking_ right to assume what I need or try and help me, I'm not some sick puppy you can pick up off the road and fix Granger, I am not your _project_."

"I never said that!" Hermione yelled, annoyed at the waiver in her voice but unable to stop it, the look in his silver eyes was nothing less than boiling, unbridled rage and it was very intimidating. "I wanted to… to _help_ you reconnect with your friends after I fucked everything up. I wanted you to stop being so goddamn fucking _sad_ all the time, do you really think people don't notice?! Draco you were coming to work like a dying man, and those were the days when you even showed up!"

He let out a frustrated roar, interrupting her rant and causing her to flinch and step back a few spaces.

"Did you not think there was a good reason my friends abandoned me Granger? Did you really think it was all down to you?" His voice was lower now, trembling with fury so hot Hermione was certain he was going to hit her and at that moment she felt so frozen in place that she couldn't figure out how to stop him.

"They were waiting for the chance and it's because I am a terrible man. Don't you think I deserve to feel so empty every day? Don't you think it's right that I can't skip merrily into work, that I don't get to smile and go to lunch with my friends, pretending like everything's normal?" He slammed his fist down on the counter once more, a jolting change from the low, intimate way he had been speaking. "Pretending like I didn't watch my own family torture you half to death? Like I didn't _help_ them do the same to other innocent people? Granger the reason you owe me nothing is not because I am a private person and I don't need your help, it's because I don't fucking _deserve_ it."

All Hermione could hear in the silence that followed was the shaky, deep breaths the two of them were taking in tandem. Of course it was about that. It was so easy to forget - what with his cold and confident demeanour - the level of self-loathing and guilt that the man before her kept locked up inside him. For the first time, looking into his pained silvery eyes, Hermione realised what Pansy had meant when she'd said Draco was like a black hole, that his grief was too powerful to fix. It was like a lightning bolt to the brain as she suddenly understood that the reason he was so tentative around her, why he kept trying to push her away though part of him wanted to fix things between them and between himself and his friends, was because he genuinely believed he deserved the suffering he was going through right now.

But she also realised that she was the only one who could help him to shoulder it. It was her, her presence that had triggered these emotions within him once again after years of managing to ignore them. He had never dealt with anything he'd done or seen during the war, and now she was there as a constant reminder of what he had seen as a child and what he had witnessed in his own home. Draco Malfoy had avoided the help of his friends, he had moved out of his family home, he had even distanced himself from his own mother. But he couldn't ignore Hermione Granger.

"That doesn't matter to me anymore." She whispered finally, building up the remains of her courage and moving closer to him. He was looking away from her now, and Hermione was quite sure she could see a glint of moisture in his silver-grey eyes. Before she could reach out to put a hand on his shoulder however he had grabbed her by the shoulders and was staring wildly into her eyes.

"Why? Why on earth doesn't it matter Hermione?" He breathed heavily, shaking her but only slightly. Hermione was momentarily terrified when he grabbed hold of her but the almost gentle way he was clasping her limbs made her more at ease. He didn't look angry anymore, just desperate. The sorrow in his eyes was almost too much for her to bear. "What could have _possibly_ made you think I am worthy of any of your time, Godric forbid your forgiveness?"

Hermione's brow furrowed at the question. It was loaded and seemed to insinuate far more than what the words actually meant. She wasn't sure how to answer, because in truth she didn't know what had changed. She just knew that she understood him more now than she ever had before.

Draco Malfoy could be cruel, but he mostly was because he was also lonely and afraid. He didn't know how he felt about himself, he seemed to see a warped, circus mirror version of the man he was. A reflection that showed him both a handsome, flawless and confident being and the guilty wretch be believed himself to be – two different figures he was trying to be and understand at all times. He seemed at any one moment both eager for punishment but also redemption. He wanted to prove to people, he wanted to prove to _her,_ that he had changed and that his behaviour before had been that of a brainwashed minor. But at the same time he wanted Hermione to hate him. He wanted to be beaten and left alone for the things he had done, things as she now understood, he had had very little choice in.

She knew all these defence mechanisms, she knew all of these flaws and she knew his self-hatred. These were things she had speculated about before but now could comprehend, she could see the way he let them poison his relationships, his work and his life. What she hadn't expected, in her quest to help him overcome those demons, was that there were aspects of his personality she actually _liked_.

Draco Malfoy could be cruel, but mostly he was _clever_. Clever, quick witted and actually funny. She thought back on the week they had enjoyed together, before it had all come crashing down, how many times he had made her laugh or engaged her in a genuinely fascinating conversation about morality, magic, even at one point _Hogwarts, a History_.

She realised with a flush that he probably hadn't kissed her those times with the intent of ruining her relationships or seeing her reputation crumble. She still didn't really understand why it was he had done it, but now that she knew him and had spent time with the _real_ him, she could see that he was not the nasty spoilt child she had met when she was 11 who would have done anything and everything to make her feel terrible.

He was mature, he was fascinating, he was troubled and amusing and seemingly a decent person who loved his friends and wanted so badly to be a better person – he was just terrified he didn't deserve that at all.

Hermione thought of all of these things and wondered how best to explain to the miserable, damaged man in front of her that _that_ was why his past didn't bother her anymore, but there was only really one thing she could think to say.

"You. You changed." Hermione whispered, looking into his silver eyes and watching the confusion mixed with relief flash across them. She could see all of the flecks of blue in his bright irises, the faint smile lines at the sides of his eyes. She watched them close and leant in to meet him halfway, deciding it was fitting that the third time they kissed it would be both of their faults.

This time was unlike any other, the heat and passion coursing through her veins as though she had been electrified, but also the raw emotion almost bringing her to tears as his lips met her own. The pair of them were still tense and heated after their multiple arguments that day and the horrors of the morning paper, and all of this poured out of them the moment their bodies collided together.

Hermione raked her hands through his soft blonde hair, sighing as he closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the hips.

She nibbled his lower lip and he growled in response, hoisting her up by her thighs and dropping her on the counter top. Hermione was dimly aware of the logical side of her brain telling her what a terrible idea this was, on par with or possibly worse than kissing Theo Nott while drunk and then breaking his heart at their shared workplace, but she couldn't find the willpower to care.

The only mildly coherent thought she had as Draco Malfoy slid her dressing gown off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor was that Pansy wasn't there to walk in on them this time, and that yes maybe he had changed for the better, but she definitely had too.

* * *

 **So I really hope you enjoyed this installment! Like I said I'm getting back into this so don't anticipate another 6 month+ break after this one;) thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoy :)**


	25. The Three Conversations

**Hi there! Back again :)**

 **Just wanted to say thank you SO much to all the reviewers from my last chapter, like I said I've been having a really rough time but already I'm remembering how much I love this community and writing, so it's extra lovely to know there are still people out there reading!**

 **As usual (hehe) I am editing this in a rush so just let me know if I've made any errors!**

 **We've got a few different threads going on in this chapter, so it's a bit of a long one. Hope you enjoy! :) xx**

* * *

 ** _Previously..._**

 _She nibbled his lower lip and he growled in response, hoisting her up by her thighs and dropping her on the counter top. Hermione was dimly aware of the logical side of her brain telling her what a terrible idea this was, on par with or possibly worse than kissing Theo Nott while drunk and then breaking his heart at their shared workplace, but she couldn't find the willpower to care._

 _The only mildly coherent thought she had as Draco Malfoy slid her dressing gown off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor was that Pansy wasn't there to walk in on them this time, and that yes maybe he had changed for the better, but she definitely had too._

"And then she just asked you to leave?" Ginny probed over a mug of green tea her doting husband had just made for her. With her feet up on a plush footstool in the Potter's cosy living room she was the picture of relaxation.

Pansy nodded, blowing on her own mug and offering Harry a smile of thanks as he took a seat beside his wife and slid his arm around her.

"There is definitely something going on between the two of them." The redhead said resolutely, which caused Pansy to snicker.

"We already _know_ there's something going on between them Ginny, or did you forget the multiple snogs she's described to us in great detail?"

At this Harry looked more than a little uncomfortable and shifted in his seat. As if Hermione and Theo Nott hadn't been weird enough, now he had to cope with the idea of his best friend being involved with _Malfoy_.

"Well yes, I know about that, but have _you_ forgotten her profusely telling us she's not interested in him and nothing else will happen?" Ginny pointed out, sighing and running a hand through her silky red hair. "I really think there's too much sexual tension between them and she's fooling herself, there's no way they can keep dodging the subject, eventually they'll just get it over with and shag."

Harry stood up from the sofa and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. It was clear that though he thought he was able to handle the topic of conversation the mere mention of sex had turned his stomach.

"I'm going to head off before I hear something I really don't want to." He muttered, bending down to give Ginny a kiss and hurrying out of the room.

"I've tried to warn her about him, but I doubt she'll listen to reason." Pansy sighed, continuing as though the boy who lived hadn't spoken. "She's far too precocious, plus you know how Hermione likes to try and 'fix' people."

Ginny nodded slowly and took a long sip from her mug, rubbing one hand across her abdomen as she thought. Pansy was right, Hermione throwing herself into saviour mode regardless of the emotional toll on her was a trait that was as frustrating as it was endearing.

Hermione had always been pigeonholed as more of a Ravenclaw than Gryffindor, but her complete abandon when it came to trying to help her friends, or in this case, former enemies, definitely towed the classic Gryffindor line of 'is this brave or just reckless?'

"Have you considered that maybe she could?" She held up a finger as Pansy opened her mouth to argue and carried on. "I don't mean fix him completely, no one can do that, but maybe she could help him. A lot of his guilt stems from her after all, their tensions at school and what happened to her in the manor."

Pansy nibbled her bottom lip and then shook her head.

"I don't know Gin; Draco is a rather terrible combination of depressed and stubborn. The man doesn't want to be helped, he likes to wallow in his own misery and then complain when things don't get any better. Hermione would be tethering herself to a sinking ship."

Ginny shrugged and nodded solemnly. She didn't completely agree with Pansy but was already tired of their topic of conversation and wanted to move on to a more tantalising one. Also she was feeling rather stubborn herself and privately resorted to see if there was something she could do about the Malfoy-Hermione situation. She was already bored of not being at work and found herself feeling restless at home with nothing to do, perhaps some meddling would be just what the doctor ordered.

"So, now let's talk about you and my brother."

Pansy groaned and placed a hand to her head in irritation. Her least favourite discussion point.

"Don't give me that, we both know this needs sorting." Ginny snapped in a voice scarily similar to her mother's. "You need to speak to him. He's been miserable all week and frankly I'm tired of it, especially as you haven't been much better. The two of you are even more irritating than Hermione and Malfoy – at least they can still pretend there's nothing between them."

"Ginny you know what he did, why shouldn't I be allowed to ignore him?" Pansy whined, feeling like a small child but also not particularly caring. She wasn't even really that upset with Ron any more, she knew that the situation with Penelope had been a messy one, and also knew that she hadn't helped by confusing him so much when it had been obvious that he wanted something more.

"Yes I know what he did, and how terrible he feels about it." The other witch replied sternly. "I also know that you had been pushing him away for weeks and giving him very mixed messages – as you told me yourself."

Pansy sighed once again and regretted not taking her time out of the flat to go and visit Astoria and Blaise. Neither of them knew about any of this and she had a feeling they wouldn't care if they did. Sure Astoria would want all the salacious details but that would be as far as her other friend would probe. Sometimes she missed life when she was surrounded by Slytherins, bottling up your emotions may not be healthy, but it at least avoided awkward conversations like this.

"It's not as simple as making up and getting together, I don't even know what I want yet! Do you really think I should throw myself back into whatever this is and mess him around more?!"

"It's not like he's expecting you to turn around and ask to be his girlfriend," Ginny said exasperatedly, "Just give him another chance and maybe go on a few actual dates this time."

"Honestly at this point I would rather go back home and take my chances with our two star crossed lovers than listen to any more of this." Pansy snapped, causing Ginny to smirk. "Now why don't you fetch me my favourite person and perk up my Saturday instead of harping on at me about your idiot brother."

As if on cue, there came an excited shriek from the doorway and the youngest of the Potters toddled into the room.

Pansy put down her tea and rushed over to James, pulling him into her arms and squeezing him tight.

"Hello little fucker!" She cooed, planting kisses on his rosy cheeks as he giggled and tugged at her hair. "Where has your mummy been hiding you hm? I've missed you so much!"

"Got to minimise his exposure to you so that he doesn't start swearing before he's 18 months old." Ginny teased, opening her arms to embrace her son as he struggled free of Pansy's grip and ran towards her.

"How are you and the hubby feeling about number two? And more importantly, how sad are you to be missing another Halloween?" Pansy asked with a grin. She had already made plans with Hermione to hit the town in central London when the holiday came about in just over a weeks' time.

"I'd say we're getting more excited to be honest, we get to find out the gender soon which is always fun. This time around has been quite a lot more hard work though, I'm thinking it will be a girl it's been so different to James." Ginny replied as she tickled her wriggling son. "And in terms of missing you and Hermione getting shit faced in next to no clothing? I'm devastated."

"We're going as sexy muggle nurses this year I've already bought the costumes, needless to say Hermione is not looking forward to it." Pansy said wickedly, standing up and stretching. "Speaking of I think I'll head back and see how she's getting on. Malfoy or no Malfoy I need to make sure she's not too stressed about the Prophet."

Ginny rolled her eyes as she released James so he could return to causing havoc.

"You are so transparent, don't pretend like you're not just going to spy on the two of them."

Pansy grinned as she moved towards the fireplace, waving goodbye to the toddler who was currently engrossed in chewing his chubby little fingers.

"Come on Gin, as interesting as Draco and Hermione are, I have no interested in their sexual tension-filled arguing. It's not as if anything else is going to happen on a Saturday morning, you're forgetting that there hasn't been any alcohol involved this time."

* * *

Penelope Clearwater took a delicate sip of her chamomile tea, bright pink manicured fingernails tapping against the side of the china cup as she did so.

Her long honey blonde hair was tied up in a velvet ribbon, and she was showing enough cleavage in her silken maroon blouse to persuade any wizard to her cause.

"You've got to be fucking joking."

Well, almost any wizard.

She looked up and smiled brightly at the dishevelled curly haired man now stood in front of her and gestured for him to take a seat.

"And good morning to you Theodore. Can I get you anything? I hear the cappuccinos are especially good, but then again this is a _muggle_ establishment." Her serene demeanour did nothing to improve his sour mood.

"I'd rather make this meeting a quick one." He snapped, throwing down his brief case but not bothering to take off his cloak as he slumped down into the armchair opposite the conniving witch.

"Suit yourself." Penelope shrugged, dabbing delicately at her rouged lips with a napkin before folding her hands in her lap and fixing him with an icy blue stare. He felt strangely as though he were about to embark on the worst job interview of his life. "I'm glad that you got my note with this morning's paper, but I must say I'm surprised at your attitude. I thought our opinions on this whole Malfoy-Granger situation were one and the same?"

Theo sneered in response and ran a nervous hand through his hair. He had been woken far too early for his liking that morning to a tapping on his bedroom window. Nott hadn't so much as read the Prophet in four years, finding the rag inflammatory at best and unreadable at worst, so his bewilderment had quickly turned to suspicion once he realised that was what the owl was trying to deliver.

The headline of the paper had been enough to make his stomach turn for several reasons. His first reaction was overwhelming anger and disappointment. He had of course been suspicious of Draco and his behaviour towards Hermione but had hoped (it seemed in vain) that she would have the sense to stay away from him. The confirmation of his fears splashed over the front page of the wizarding world's most popular paper was certainly not how he had wanted to begin his weekend.

His upset had then turned once again to confusion as a small pink note had fallen from the mid-section of the paper, instructing him to head to a café in muggle London which he now realised was the same Hermione and Draco frequented during the work week.

"I don't know what you're talking about, you and I are not alike in any way Clearwater. In fact I couldn't think of a worse person to emulate." He snapped, balking at the very thought of having something in common with the nasty witch before him.

"Oh spare me the bullshit Theo." Penelope retorted, narrowing her eyes and dropping her irritatingly perky demeanour for the first time that morning. She had woken up early having hardly slept out of excitement. She had known from the beginning that her and Gregory's plan was a risky one, but the headline had been even better than she could have imagined – and all she'd had to do was tip off a few reporters and have them wait around the café for Granger and Malfoy to show.

She had guessed that the two of them would be far too naïve to expect any wandering eyes in a secluded corner of muggle London. All it had taken was that tip and a few quotes about an implied sexual relationship and she had managed to make the front page. Penelope almost wished she could brag about it, but she knew that would earn her more than a few enemies.

"We both have a bone to pick with the wizarding world's hottest couple, don't pretend that frumpy bitch didn't embarrass you as well."

At this Theo slammed his fist down on the quaint table in between them and his blue eyes flashed with rage.

"What on earth do you gain by spreading such vitriol about other people's lives? Hermione is easily twice the witch you could ever be in more ways than one, your salacious gossip hasn't even begun to change that."

Her reaction only served to irritate him further, she cocked one elegant brow and slowly lifted her china tea cup back up to her lips. When she had finished taking a sip she was smirking nastily.

"Really, what is it about that girl that has you all under her spell? I certainly don't see it myself." She commented drily, "It seems you have come out even worse than I expected with all this nonsense going on, caught feelings for the mudblood did we?"

Not wanting to give her the satisfaction of prodding him any further Theo reached for his briefcase and got to his feet.

"I have no idea why you asked me to meet with you Clearwater, perhaps you thought I could be persuaded to join you in your nefarious and frankly embarrassing plots, but I can think of no worse way of spending my Saturday."

Before he could make his escape, Penelope was on her feet and standing in his way arms folded.

"Have you not gotten tired of living in Malfoy's shadow? Being the lacky to a man who was too fearful to pick a side in the war and stick to it? A man who cares for nobody but himself?" She bared her pearly white teeth angrily and pointed an accusatory finger into his chest. " _This_ is why Hermione could never fall for you, because no matter how much nicer, cleverer and more supportive of a man you believe yourself to be, you will _always_ be the only wizard more cowardly than Draco Malfoy."

Theo felt ignited by fury and humiliation, and for possibly the first time in his life he was close to losing his temper completely and drawing his wand on the witch before him in the middle of muggle London. He stopped himself as his hand was reaching instinctively for the weapon in his pocket and took a step closer towards her, staring menacingly down into her flustered face instead.

"You know _nothing_ of my relationship with either Hermione or Draco, that much has been made abundantly clear. You also have even less brain cells than I initially assumed – something I wasn't sure was possible – and I would take immense pleasure in hexing you into oblivion right now." The entire time Theo spoke his voice never rose above a murmur, and to his satisfaction he noticed for the first time a flash of fear in Clearwater's eyes.

"Before you humiliate yourself any further, I suggest you stop with these childish, petty games and return to running around after Percy Weasley and trying to find a wealthy wizard to torture into marrying you or whatever it is you spend your pitiful existence doing." He finished with a cruel smile, relishing in the look of shock and worry on the woman's face.

However, the fear was short lived apparently, and the witch couldn't help but slip in another jab while she had the time.

"So remind me, with what happened between Draco and Daphne, does that make it two women he's stolen from you without even trying? Or are there some others I don't know about?"

That comment more than any before touched a nerve. Theo felt as though he had been thrown violently back to the evening when Daphne Greengrass, the girl he had been in love with since school, had tentatively told him about a drunken 'mistake' she'd made the previous night with his own best friend. He had tried his best to put the incident behind him, telling himself that Draco hadn't really known his feelings for Daphne, that he had been too drunk and too miserable to think before acting.

But in a way Clearwater was right, this was the second time Malfoy had decided to damage his romantic pursuits – could both occasions just be coincidences? Or was he really as immature and cruel as others perceived him to be? For the longest time Theo had assumed he was beyond the nasty, childish side of Draco Malfoy. That however stupid or reckless he was they would always be best friends and he would always be the exception to the rule. Maybe he had just been naïve.

He felt his shoulders slump ever so slightly as the last of his resolve seemed to melt away and took a minute to think before making his next move.

Penelope's eyes widened in surprise as Nott pulled out his muggle mobile phone from a pocket in his cloak and passed it to her.

"I know you have one of these so put in your contact details." He muttered, refusing to meet her eyes as she excitedly took the small device and began tapping in her phone number. "Only contact me if you have something worth meeting about, I don't want any useless messages or half-baked theories."

The blonde witch grinned in a way which under usual circumstances would be charming and sweet, but Theo felt his stomach turn at the look of joy, knowing the darker and more nefarious meaning behind it.

"You won't be disappointed Theodore. I think bringing down Draco Malfoy once and for all will be beneficial to both of us."

He turned away with a brief nod, trying to ignore the sick feeling of dread that was currently washing over him as he made his way towards the door of the café.

As he stepped outside, the heavens opened. Theodore Nott was reminded of the term pathetic fallacy and wondered if he had made the right decision.

* * *

Hermione practically flew towards her bedroom door, slamming it shut and muttering a locking charm as she fumbled about her room for any article of clothing that she could throw over her very naked body.

The few moments of ecstasy and relief of her pent-up sexual tension had not been worth the now earth-shattering panic and anxiety she was experiencing. She tried as hard as she could to avoid looking at the nude form of her co-worker and former enemy who was leaning back against her pillows and watching her with one eyebrow cocked.

"You know Granger, I think we're past the formalities of clothes at this point." He smirked from the bed.

She spun around, hands covering her exposed breasts and a small pair of pyjama shorts (which were on backwards) covering the rest of her body. Even in that moment, the sight of him caused her breath to catch in her throat. He was relaxed, almost off guard. There was still a shimmer of sweat across his brow, and looking at his bare chest was making her think of how firm and powerful he had felt when she was sat on top of him, both hands splayed across his bare skin –

"Mind you don't drool now Hermione."

Her salacious thoughts were interrupted by yet another snide comment from her unexpected lover, shaking Hermione from her confused, amorous reverie.

"You have to go." She instructed, snapping back into action and desperately feeling around for a top, the panic setting in once again as she realised Pansy could be back at any moment.

Draco frowned momentarily but quickly recovered his usual smarmy expression. He felt slightly rejected by her direct tone, and worried for a moment that he had disappointed her. He had no idea what sort of sexual history Hermione Granger had, but she had definitely seemed to be enjoying his touch at the time.

"Alright, any particular reason why?" He asked a little hotly, leaning over the side of her bed and grabbing his discarded boxers, trying not to let his eyes linger too long on her perky breasts as she rushed about the room.

"Don't be a fool Malfoy." She hissed, feeling tears prick the back of her eyes without really knowing why. "This should never have happened, _merlin_ I can't believe this happened."

At this he recoiled, staring at her in disbelief. He wasn't sure what he'd expected her reaction to be after they finally broke the tension and slept together, but it certainly hadn't been one as bad as this.

He felt hurt by her words, and though he wanted to persuade himself it was due to the knock to his ego, a part of him knew it was far deeper than that. She had been all he had thought about for several months now, how to get close to her, annoy her, spend time with her. Now it felt as though his head were in turmoil and all of that effort had been for absolutely nothing.

A part of him was confused and upset by the way she was dismissing him – though logically he knew that she was right, that this probably should never have happened. A larger part of him was not only confused but afraid. He had known for a while that there was attraction between them, that he couldn't get her out of his head. But since they had started working together, he had been able to put that down to sexual tension – he needed to fuck her to get it out of his system and then he could move on.

But he didn't feel satiated. He didn't feel as though the chapter had come to an end. If anything he was even more bewildered than he had been before. There was a sinking feeling in his gut telling him that perhaps Daphne was right, and even worse than that, it was clear that Hermione wanted absolutely nothing to do with him so there would be absolutely no point in allowing that part of him to see the light of day.

"Well it's not like you're my first choice of witch to be bedding either." He retaliated, regretting the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth but finding himself completely unable to stop them.

To his horror, she didn't fire back. Hermione didn't turn to him, amber eyes blazing and hair crackling about her face like anger itself personified. Instead she sighed and slowly sank to the carpeted floor, pulling an oversized t shirt slowly over her head as she did so.

She looked the picture of defeat in that moment, her shoulders slumped as she played with the ends of her hair anxiously.

"Just go. I don't want to argue with you Draco." She sighed, blinking back tears as she stared at her hands folded in her lap and waited for him to leave. "I can't do this right now."

The blonde sat and watched her, the famous Hermione Granger, more vulnerable than he had ever thought she was capable of being. He wanted nothing more than to help, to ask what he could do – anything apart from just getting up and walking away as though nothing had happened and he didn't care about her at all.

Because he knew that was what she would think as soon as he walked out of the door, but he also knew that Hermione was far too stubborn to listen to anyone right now. Perhaps she didn't even want to speak to him ever again.

So instead of staying and trying to get her to open up or at least tell him if he had done anything wrong, he hastily grabbed hold of his robes and cloak, flinging them on haphazardly before striding towards the door.

Hermione mutely flicked her wrist and undid the locking charm, signalling once again that he had overstayed his welcome.

Draco Malfoy walked towards the fireplace without looking back, feeling his euphoria dissipate like hot air into the winter sky.

He flung the green powder angrily into the hearth, muttering his address as he stepped into the ensuing flames, hoping against all odds they would burn him alive and put him out of his misery.

In the short time it took for him to arrive home and tumble out onto his own living room carpet he could feel the stinging of hot tears in his eyes. He furiously grabbed the closest thing to him, a photo of himself as a young boy riding on his first ever broomstick so that he could reach his father's height in the photo and flung it at the wall.

The shattering of his only last good memory of his late father did nothing to alleviate Draco's rage, and he roared in frustration as he grabbed a mug from a side table and made sure it met the same end.

"How could I have been so stupid?!" He yelled, feeling his voice hitch on the last word as tears began to stream down his cheeks.

This was utterly ridiculous. He had already let her down in so many ways, and now yet again he had left her crying, alone, with not even an apology or attempt to fix the things he had done wrong.

He choked on a sob and flung open the door to his prized liquor cabinet, ignoring the sharp crack as the stained window in it fissured.

Pansy had been right, Theo had been right, worst of all, he had been right all along. There was no way someone like Hermione Granger could ever harbour anything but loathing for him even though he had tried so hard to show her the lighter side of him over the past few weeks.

As he opened a bottle of whiskey that would probably set him back a few hundred galleons and unceremoniously drank it straight whilst sat on the floor, Draco thought miserably of what this foolish escapade had cost him.

Most obviously there was Theo, and it seemed Pansy Blaise and the Greengrasses were hardly on his side either. Then there was his reputation – or what was left of it, in a way in fact that morning's headline had probably done him more good than anything else.

But the biggest loss was of course, her. There would be no more days spent laughing and working in the coffee shop he had showed her, a place he had come to think of as their own. He thought of the way the sunlight danced across her auburn locks, illuminating shifts of red and honey blonde that otherwise were invisible to the naked eye. How when she had a breakthrough, she would hastily whip her unruly hair up into a sloppy bun, often stick a pen or two in it for easy access, and nibble on the end of her pencil in between furious bouts of writing.

As he sat slumped against the wall, the whiskey already a quarter gone, in amongst shards of shattered glass and china, he mourned the time he had wasted avoiding her or making her uncomfortable. Thought about how if he hadn't acted like such a child for so many years, he could have made use of every minute they were near each other, every second.

And now it was all over.

He had only just begun to make sense of what was going on in his head – the fact that he actually liked spending time with Hermione Granger – and now it was like he had been dragged kicking and screaming back to square one. She wanted nothing to do with him – of course she did – but where did that leave him? Would they be able to work together? Would he be able to put all of it behind him? The way she made him laugh, the way just a few minutes before she had been making him feel.

Draco Malfoy closed his eyes and let his head hit the wall with a dull think before absently flicking his wand and closing all of the curtains.

It seemed another weekend of self-loathing was in order.

* * *

 **Come on - you didn't think it was going to be that easy did you ;)**

 **Don't worry, though this is obvs a slow burn we will have some more romance and a little less angst coming up - but I do think angst makes everything more fun!**

 **Anyway, hopefully see you soon, thank you for reading :) xx**


	26. The Final Straw

**Hello again! Back after another too long break so I apologise haha, uni work has been getting me down!**

 **As a compromise I thought I would deliver you the longest chapter I've written for this story so far (yup! Not even joking, but I will admit it was by accident)**

 **This is a good turning point in the story, but before I give anything away lets jump in and see what happens on Halloween...**

 **(Also massive thank you to everyone who's still reading and reviewing, you guys seriously make my day so much brighter :))**

* * *

Previously...

 _"Just go. I don't want to argue with you Draco." She sighed, blinking back tears as she stared at her hands folded in her lap and waited for him to leave. "I can't do this right now."_

 _The blonde sat and watched her, the famous Hermione Granger, more vulnerable than he had ever thought she was capable of being. He wanted nothing more than to help, to ask what he could do – anything apart from just getting up and walking away as though nothing had happened and he didn't care about her at all._

 _Because he knew that was what she would think as soon as he walked out of the door, but he also knew that Hermione was far too stubborn to listen to anyone right now. Perhaps she didn't even want to speak to him ever again._

 _So instead of staying and trying to get her to open up or at least tell him if he had done anything wrong, he hastily grabbed hold of his robes and cloak, flinging them on haphazardly before striding towards the door._

 **Chapter 26: The Final Straw**

"Well it seems like you have royally fucked up, doesn't it?" Pansy remarked coldly, the steam rising from her takeaway latte making her look even more dragon like and formidable than normal.

Hermione almost choked on her hot chocolate in surprise and gawped at her sour best friend in disbelief.

Pansy had returned home shortly after Malfoy had left after his and Hermione's tryst to find her flat mate in tears in bed and had proposed a walk in the chilly afternoon air to calm her nerves (in muggle London of course so as to avoid the stares and whispers of the wizarding population as best they could).

She had been uncharacteristically sweet and calm, not pestering Hermione with questions or trying to find out how her and Malfoy's conversation had gone, waiting instead until they had ordered their hot drinks and begun their stroll through the bustling streets of the city.

That was when Hermione had decided to heed her own advice and start being as honest as possible with her best friend. She had briefly run through the events of that morning and what had happened after Pansy left, (though she did spare her the gory details) finishing with the way she had hastily dismissed him from her bedroom only a few minutes after they had done the dirty.

The black-haired witch's reaction had certainly not been what Hermione was expecting.

"Look what do you want me to say Hermione?" Pansy sighed, glaring at a muggle man in a business suit who almost sent her coffee flying as he hurried past. "You know I love you and you know how I feel about Draco – especially at the moment – but you can't really expect me to ignore the part you played in this?"

The brunette let out a small squeak of disbelief.

" _My_ part in this?! Do I have to remind you of the several occasions in the not so distant past that Malfoy found me drunk and stuck his tongue down my throat? Do I need to tell you again about how important it is we stay professional – especially now that the entire wizarding world thinks we're involved?"

Pansy scoffed and gave her flat mate a look reminiscent of the ones she used to level at her while they were at school – pure derision.

"Alright so I can assume that you're hammered right now? That you had no idea how to keep his hands off you? That you, or at least some part of you, didn't enjoy it just as much as he did?"

At this Hermione blushed beet red and looked away, not wanting to see the smirk of satisfaction undoubtedly lighting up Pansy's face right that moment.

"Well, I know the circumstances weren't _entirely_ similar, but-"

"You can't just blame him for the two of you shagging because afterwards you realised it was a bad idea." Pansy pointed out. "Besides I sincerely doubt it was all him who instigated it – it takes two to fuck each other's brains out, you know the saying."

Hermione couldn't remember the last time she'd been so embarrassed, maybe it was because of the authoritative way Pansy was speaking to her or because she felt like an admonished child, but right then it was almost like she was being lectured about sex by her own mother.

"I don't think that's _quite_ the expression." She muttered, avoiding the topic at hand.

"Also, you said you'd been arguing right before – what was that about? How did arguing turn into fucking on the kitchen counter?"

"How did you?!" Hermione spluttered, and then realised her mistake as Pansy's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Hermione Granger you filthy minx, I was bloody joking." She said with a wry smile. "But anyway you can give me all the details later, what was it the two of you were arguing about this time? Was that the reason you booted him out?"

Hermione thought back to earlier that day before she had succumbed to her base instincts against her better judgement. They had been screaming at each other in the kitchen, and she felt a pang of guilt as she remembered his words and how difficult it must have been for him to say them to her.

 _"The reason you owe me nothing is not because I am a private person and I don't need your help, it's because I don't fucking deserve it."_

She found herself feeling slightly sick as she recalled how miserable, how vulnerable he had been in that moment along with how she had ordered him to get out of her house without even looking him in the eye or giving an explanation.

"No it wasn't, which means you're right." She said sadly before she tried to put their intense fight into words. "He was… he was angry with me because I tried to get him to take all the blame for Fartherington and Clearwater going to the press behind our backs. I _may_ have underplayed the time I screamed at Gregory in a packed restaurant and positioned him against us." At this Pansy snorted.

"Now _there's_ a surprise." That earned her a dirty look from her companion before she carried on speaking.

"I told him that I should never have bothered trying to help him, and he got very upset. He told me that he didn't need or want my help, and when I asked him why he said it was because he didn't deserve it. He said that every day he was suffering was one that he himself had earned."

Pansy whistled through her teeth and gave Hermione a cautious look, but the witch was seemingly deep in thought staring into the melting cream on the top of her hot chocolate.

"That's rough. So how did you end up…?"

"I told him I forgive him. I said that he had changed." She replied softly, the twisted knot of guilt in her stomach seemed to grow heavier as she voiced this out loud. Why had she reacted so rashly? Not only sleeping with him but kicking him to the curb after he had been so open with her.

Before Pansy could speak Hermione pressed the tips of her fingers to her temple and scrunched up her eyes, trying to banish the tears that had begun to well as she spoke.

"I don't need you to tell me off again Pans I know what I've done. I should never have fucked him in the first place and then to just kick him out like that." Her voice broke and she bit her lip to hold back a sob.

It was terribly ironic that she'd spent so much time and effort worrying about Draco Malfoy, trying to do right by him and fix the problems she had created by drunkenly going after his best friend, and the one moment he had opened up to her enough for her to start to seriously help him she had thrown it all away.

"Hermione look, it's ok." Pansy said soothingly, grabbing her by the elbow and steering her to a nearby bench. She gave the two teenagers already seated on it a dark look and it took seconds for them to scatter so the two of them could sit down. "I'm not going to lie, you did fuck this one up, but it's not irreversible damage."

Hermione sniffed and nodded, still not looking up from her now lukewarm drink, but Pansy could see the sparkling tears clustered on her lashes.

"Draco is a proud man, and this will certainly have hurt his ego, but he is also not stupid. He knows just as well as you or I that this was a bad decision, you're both under a lot of pressure and your reputation is on the line, he knows how difficult that is for you."

"God Pansy I just feel like I've blown the whole thing, when will I even see him again? We both know when he gets like this work isn't exactly a priority."

Pansy put her arm awkwardly around her friend and pulled her in close, kissing her on the top of her head.

"I know you're not used to hearing this Hermione, but everyone fucks up. Most important thing you can do by far is take some responsibility, you know he'll love to hear 'I was in the wrong' far more than anything else." At this Hermione's cracked a small smile. "As for how you'll see him, I think you're forgetting that it's the ministry's All Hallows Eve party tomorrow night."

Hermione groaned and sat bolt upright shooting Pansy a dark look.

"You cannot be serious. I'm not going to that! Half the ministry thinks I'm in an illicit relationship with Draco Malfoy and the other half are my friends who will probably still grill me about it."

Pansy chuckled and threw her and Hermione's coffee cups in the bin before turning to her in mock severity.

"Well, not to put a damper on your spirits or anything but that story printed in the Prophet this morning does now have a grain of truth to it." Hermione put her head in her hands which only caused Pansy to laugh once again. "Look I'm only joking, we don't even have to tell Ginny if you don't want, but more to the point Draco will go, even if he's not at work next week. He's never turned down a party and now that you've shafted him, he'll be on the prowl."

Hermione looked up and glared at her.

"Ah yes, that sounds like the perfect scenario to have a serious discussion. Also, won't I be dressed up as a nurse?"

"A _slutty_ nurse." Pansy corrected seriously before continuing, "I know it's not ideal, but you will be hard pressed to find any other moment to talk to him alone, especially this weekend. I know Draco and his pride will definitely be too wounded to want anything to do with you today."

"And what makes you think he'll be any different tomorrow?" Hermione pointed out, still desperate to find a way to avoid having to attend a work party in full costume no less.

"You're forgetting two things; one it's work territory. If he's seen ignoring you or Salazar forgive being rude it will immediately call his position in your team into question." Pansy pointed out, and Hermione reluctantly nodded. She did have a point there, despite all of his self-loathing and binge drinking Draco did still seem committed to seeing Lestrange get the kiss. "And second and most importantly of all, you will be dressed as a slutty nurse."

* * *

"The woman of the hour, the lover of dragons there she is!"

Hermione's only response to the cheerful expression of her redheaded best friend and her husband was a deep scowl – and Harry didn't exactly look pleased either.

"Thanks for that Gin, maybe next time say that when half the room doesn't think it's a fact." She hissed, giving awkward smiles and nods to the people around them who had heard and were giving them strange looks.

Hermione and Pansy had arrived fashionably late to the Ministry of Magic's annual All Hallows Eve party, an affair that had begun with the intent of class and style and had quickly regressed to an opportunity for colleagues to dress raunchily and get drunk – something that after the war it was universally accepted people needed.

The party was already in full swing, there was a live band playing in the centre of the Ministry's main atrium, and off to one side a large temporary bar had been installed and was being manned by some of that years interns in the lower departments.

Hermione spotted several familiar faces – no one too high up as they usually made a fleeting appearance, gave a sensible speech and then escaped before the real shenanigans began – but she could already see several heads turning towards her and she'd only just stepped into the party.

"I thought you two were giving it a miss this year and heading out in muggle London?" Ginny asked, sipping on a glass of juice as she eyed the enchanted floating trays of shots that drifted past every so often.

Pansy grinned and grabbed three shots off of one of the closest trays, passing one to a startled and slightly uncomfortable looking Harry Potter who was dressed as what appeared to be a man in a tweed coat.

"No we figured may as well stop by here first check in with everyone," Pansy replied, suavely avoiding the real reason they were in attendance and not even mentioning Malfoy's name. "What in the name of Nagini are you supposed to be then Potters?"

Ginny grinned and fumbled around in the pocket of her own similar tweed coat for something, before pulling out a magnifying glass and an ugly hat triumphantly.

Pansy continued to look bewildered, but Hermione burst out laughing and helped her friend place the deerstalker on her head.

"That's incredible, where on earth did you get the idea?" She laughed as Harry sighed. He looked rather put out to be forced into a couples costume at a work party (and dressed as the Watson not the Holmes no less), but he couldn't hold back a begrudging smile as he looked down at his wife's beaming expression.

"Well, Ginny hasn't been getting out of the house all that much at the moment what with her mother being too busy to take care of James and her taking time off work so…"

"Elementary my dear Granger!" The redhead crowed theatrically, "I've been getting into old muggle films, Sherlock Holmes is my current favourite, I'm hoping that Harry will buy me the book for Christmas. Oh, and you have to come and watch the Princess Bride with me, that's going to be my new favourite before long I think but I have only seen it three times."

Hermione was still chuckling while Pansy looked on completely non-plussed. She glanced in Harry's direction and he rolled his eyes at her, but the small adoring smile remained on his lips as Ginny continued to chatter away about some of the films she and James had been enjoying that week. It was while Ginny rambled on that Pansy spotted something unsavoury behind their friend's shoulder.

"Well here's a turn of events no one expected." She muttered sarcastically, elbowing Hermione in warning and passing her the shot of fire whiskey. "You're going to need this."

Hermione looked up and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as she realised who was heading towards them.

Gregory and Penelope did not appear to be in costume, instead the formidable couple were wearing luxurious garments that belonged at a gala, not the office Halloween party.

Clearwater was sporting a navy-blue gown with a dropping low back and deep V neck in the front that revealed her ample cleavage, while her escort wore a tailored set of dress robes in the same shade.

"Granger." Fartherington gave her his typical smug smile while Penelope barely gave her a second glance. Hermione suddenly felt even more embarrassed than she had been earlier that evening when Pansy had strapped her into the tight white latex nurse's uniform and told her to "play ball or you'll look like an idiot being the only one out of costume there."

She knew she should have gone with one of her formal yet practical dresses.

"Hello Gregory, you look well." Hermione replied smoothly, trying to keep her bubbling anger tightly lidded as she glared at the two orchestrators of her most recent misfortune.

"You look… interesting." Penelope piped up, making a show of languidly looking Hermione's outfit up and down causing the other woman to blush and try and tug her skirt a little further down her thighs. "And I suppose the 'slit throat' makes these outfits… scary?"

Clearwater mockingly referred to the rather sloppily done SFX make up that Pansy had attempted to turn the two of them into zombie nurses after Hermione pointed out that they were hardly dressed for Halloween, more like a strip club. It seemed, ironically, that Penelope liked her outfit about as much as she did herself.

"I like your outfit by the way Clearwater, didn't realise you could buy an arsehole costume that looked so… realistic." Pansy commented drily, and Hermione gave her a pinch on the arm to chastise her for the rude but still amusing comment.

"I'm surprised you don't have a date this evening Hermione," Gregory intervened before the two women could get any nastier. "Didn't I see something about your new paramour on the front of the Prophet yesterday?"

At this the people around them seemed to gasp in unison, and several edged closer to earwig even better on the conversation at hand. Hermione pursed her lips, prepared for the onslaught of accusations and rumours that would undoubtedly begin tonight and follow her for quite some time.

It was strange, now that something had actually happened between Draco and herself it somehow felt wrong to lie and deny everything. But despite Hermione's instincts to be truthful and honest, her self-preservation instinct was stronger still. Years of being under threat and fighting for your life will do that to a person.

She elected to (as calmly as possible) tell Gregory he was mistaken, but before she could open her mouth, the nasty blonde witch's attention was caught by someone who had just entered the atrium at the worst possible moment.

"Speak of the devil here he is now, Malfoy why don't you come and join us?"

Despite her best efforts to remain calm Hermione instantly felt all the blood rush to her cheeks, and she spun around to look at Pansy, barely managing to mask her nerves as she did so.

Pansy however, looked just as helpless as she felt, and her only response to the pleading gaze Hermione drilled her with was to shrug and reach for another shot.

A tall man dressed in a sweeping ink black cloak strolled towards them, and Hermione couldn't stop herself from gawping as Draco Malfoy made his entrance.

He was dressed entirely in black and white, his silver-blonde hair slicked back against his skull in a way that had once seemed slimy and unattractive to Hermione, but now all she could see was cheekbones and pure elegance. He didn't appear to be in costume, but had rather taken a similar route to Gregory and Penelope and simply dressed exquisitely for the occasion – albeit in robes that seemed quite old fashioned.

It wasn't until he caught her eye and flashed her a dazzling smile that she realised his version of a Halloween costume was apparently to dress incredibly suave and then magically elongate his front incisors.

"Good evening esteemed colleagues, I trust you are doing well?" He asked politely, and the tension was broken by Penelope verbalising what everyone was thinking and muttering 'fuck me' under her breath.

Gregory shot her a dirty look and his grip on her arm seemed to tighten as he turned back to face the newest arrival with a condescending sneer.

"Bit of a predictable move for you to play a blood sucking leech isn't it Malfoy? And rather along the lines of the muggle interpretation dare I say it?"

Malfoy seemed completely unphased by the man's snide comments – in fact Hermione was utterly perplexed by how unphased he seemed by _everything_. She had half expected him to arrive much later, already drunk and for him to ignore her the entire night – not for him to appear so put together and calm.

"I think in this case the muggles had more fun with their depiction, after all, who can stand to look at an _actual_ vampire?" He replied smoothly, before turning to face his still stunned work partner and holding out his arm. "Shall we go and get a drink?"

Hermione stood and gawped at him for a few moments, trying to process what was going on. Was it possible she had imagined their whole altercation the previous day? That she had finally, actually gone stark raving mad?

It seemed that Pansy too was lost for words (a very rare occurrence), for she was staring blankly at her two friends with a similar expression.

Like many times before, it was Ginny Weasley who came to the rescue.

"Come on Hermione he doesn't look that good," She teased merrily, trying to disrupt some of the tension. Harry too looked confused and slightly uncomfortable and mumbled something about wanting to talk to Percy before making a swift escape. "Go up and grab a drink, I'll keep an eye on Parkinson for you."

Hermione managed to awaken from her reverie enough to nod and smile in response before shakily taking Draco's arm and excusing herself from her friends and two glaring nemeses.

As he wheeled her towards the bar Malfoy leant in, his smile still fixed in place as he met the eyes and nodded at the people they passed and began to mutter under his breath.

"No need for you to look so stunned about my appearance Granger, I _am_ known for being something of a fox."

Hermione was utterly lost. She had thought that after the previous day he would never want to see or speak to her again, and now he was going to fetch her a drink whilst clasping her arm and acting as though everything was normal.

"Why are you doing this? Are you not… angry with me?" She spluttered in confusion as they reached the bar and Draco ordered two gin and tonics.

"Why on earth would I be angry with you, Granger?" He asked with a roll of his eyes, leaning against the side of the bar and surveying her critically. "Besides all of the usual reasons of course."

"Because of… you know. Yesterday when you and I…" She flushed once again turning the same colour as the red cross on the left breast of her costume.

To her surprise Malfoy merely threw back his head and laughed, she watched as the light from the candles glinted on his pearly white, sharpened teeth, but the sound didn't put her at ease. She realised when he lowered his gaze to meet hers that there was no mirth there at all. He was faking.

"Did you really think a shag put me in a bad mood? Come on Granger." He smirked, passing her her drink and seeming to enjoy when she flinched at the way he had so loudly and brazenly commented on their activities. "I know that for _you_ it may have seemed serious, but in case you've forgotten co-workers are sort of my forte."

Hermione felt as though he had taken a loaded shotgun and fired a blast through her chest. It was like in one sentence he had knocked the wind from her lungs and sent her flying. She didn't know what to make of it.

"No that's not what I was saying, I didn't think anything of it either I was just checking because," She spluttered, fumbling over her words as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What? Did you think I _liked_ you?" He asked mockingly, that awful smirk slowly widening on his lips.

Hermione wasn't sure why, but she felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes at his words, it was like being slapped in the face but verbally.

"No, I never thought that you were interested I just thought that,"

"What? That you and I could have something? That all this time I've been trying to get you?" She felt her bottom lip start to tremble and bit down on it so hard that she tasted blood. It felt like the entire room was spinning, she wanted him to stop but the vitriol just kept pouring out of his mouth. "Newsflash Granger, I started this whole thing to prove a point to Theo, and yesterday you gave me exactly what I wanted."

 _No, no, no._ Hermione's mind raced at the possibility, he couldn't be telling the truth, there was no way that he had been playing her all along, trying to get into her pants to piss off one of his death eater friends.

She looked desperately into his eyes, searching for something she wasn't sure was there, wasn't sure she'd ever actually seen. He wouldn't meet her gaze, and this was all she needed to recover slightly from the terrible things he had said and fire back.

"In case you've forgotten Malfoy," She spat, blinking furiously and hoping that the tears forming in her eyes wouldn't spill over. She didn't want to show him any weakness. "It was _me_ who kicked you to the curb after we fucked, not you. It was _me_ who felt sorry for _you_."

He flinched ever so slightly as she spoke, but Hermione caught it and let it fuel her further.

"You can sit there and tell me all the nasty fucking things you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you fucked a mudblood, and the only reason she let it happen is because she pitied you."

With that Hermione downed the rest of her drink and quickly got to her feet, hoping that she hadn't been too loud in her emotional outburst. She could feel hot tears dragging her carefully applied mascara down her cheeks and wiped her face hurriedly as she turned to stalk off.

Draco watched her stumble to her feet on her too high heels and fought desperately against the urge to grab hold of her arm and tell her to sit back down.

It had been horrible, of course it had, but his words had also served their purpose and she had reacted how he hoped she would. He didn't want to have to sit there and listen to her awkwardly apologise, pity and sadness in her amber eyes as she explained that they had made a mistake and he shouldn't take it personally, but they couldn't carry on as they had been.

So instead he had taken things into his own hands.

He was trying to ignore the feelings of sadness and frustration battling within his mind and instead focus on the only positive which was that it had been quick and relatively painless.

It was partly (ok mostly) for his own ego. He wanted to be the one to let her down, but of course also, he had to consider that Hermione was right. It had been a mistake; they couldn't let things develop any further – it was too twisted and wrong. He was an ex-death eater and she had been a victim. It didn't matter how he thought he was starting to feel about her; it could never happen.

"Do you know what that little performance reminded me of?" A soft female voice drawled in his ear causing Draco to nearly fall out of his chair in surprise.

There was only one person who could sneak up on him like that, and sure enough when he turned around it was Daphne Greengrass' green eyes that met his own.

"For fuck's sake can you stop doing that?! I swear to Merlin the next time I'll just hex you out of shock." He hissed as she smirked and took a seat on the bar stool beside him, gesturing to the bartender and ordering a cocktail.

"So how about you enlighten me and explain why you were making fun of Hermione like you've regressed to your 12-year-old self again?" She asked, eyebrow arched above the delicate mask she was wearing. Daphne looked stunning that evening, with enchanted vines encircling her limbs and criss-crossing over a delicate bodysuit, she was clearly a forest nymph of some sort and it suited her very well.

Draco shrugged and looked into his almost empty glass, unsure of how much to tell her. Daphne had proved to be a very reliable confident – possibly the best one he had in these situations as she didn't seem to care for the same idle gossip as Pansy and even Blaise.

"It was time that I put an end to it before things got any more complicated." He muttered, not meeting her gaze as he knew she would be disappointed in him. "It was a mistake to try and get close to her like that, look at how the wizarding world is bloody taking it."

Daphne stayed silent for a moment, sipping her drink as she appeared to be deep in thought. Draco tapped the table nervously with his fingers as he waited for her response.

"So, you admit that the things you did weren't just to fuck with her and Weasley? You had other motivations?"

Draco blinked at the strange part of this entire mess that she had decided to focus on. Trust the romantic in Daphne to want to believe there was something else going on.

"Don't be ridiculous Greengrass how many times do I have to tell you, I don't care about her."

Daphne rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her drink in an impressively large gulp.

"I'm not going to play this game anymore with you Malfoy." She snapped, pointing her straw at him accusingly. "How many times do I have to prove to you that you can trust me? I haven't said anything to anyone about what we've spoken about and I'm tired of you trying to lie to me."

Draco opened his mouth to argue but she shook her head and narrowed her eyes.

"I don't want to hear it. I read the fucking Prophet Draco, they can print all the lies they want but those photos looked pretty real to me and you looked happier than I've seen you in years."

"Taken out of context." Draco grumbled, grabbing three shots of fire whiskey from a floating tray and downing them in quick succession. He thought about the shot of him tenderly touching Hermione's hand, that had been the day when she'd gotten upset about the gruesome details of their case files. He remembered how important it had been to him that she didn't cry, that he do something to help.

Daphne completely ignored him.

"And even just now, Hermione might not be able to pick up on it, but I can tell when you're playing a part. Fuck, I think half the room saw you flinch when she started going in at you – it's _blindingly_ obvious that you care. So now tell me honestly, why are you behaving like this? Who does this behaviour serve? Because it seems to me like all you're doing is fucking everything up for everyone involved."

Draco was silent for a few minutes, letting the alcohol seep into his veins as he considered how honest he should be with his only real friend in that moment.

"It can't happen." He muttered, noting that thankfully Daphne was letting him speak at his own pace for once. He took another sip of his drink and stared at his clenched fists as he spoke. "It doesn't matter how she or I feel – and I'm not saying I fucking know how I fucking feel before you get all mushy on me alright? But regardless it doesn't _matter_ because it can't happen, she's nothing like me Daph, I've done so many terrible things and who is she? Potter's bloody golden girl, ex-girlfriend of Ron Weasley and a shoo-in for minister of magic in a few decades. What business do I have being close to her in any capacity at all?"

Daphne nodded thoughtfully and waved the bartender over to order him a fresh drink. He mumbled a thank you and waited for her to impart her wisdom.

"Well I always knew you were a moron, but I didn't think it was this drastic." She commented drily, causing him to shoot daggers in her direct before taking a swig of his gin and tonic. "Forget about feelings and snogs and whatever _else_ the two of you have done,"

At this Draco flushed and looked away, causing Daphne to smirk as he all but confirmed her suspicions.

"Because I know you don't want to talk about that and I doubt either of you have a clue what you're doing in that respect – but there is absolutely no reason why you can't be _friends_."

Draco gave her a withering look.

"I should think that after I just mocked her in a room full of people when she came to speak with me honestly _might_ be a reason we can't be bosom buddies."

"Godric you're such an idiot," Daphne sighed, scanning the room to see if it was obvious where Hermione had stormed off to. "Pansy's already spoken to me about how keen she was to help you, _yes_ you've put a huge bloody spanner in the works today but all you can do is apologise and hope that she hears you out."

Draco groaned and put his head in his hands. God he was tired of apologising.

"You're making a fuss but you and I both know if you hadn't been such an ass we wouldn't be in this situation. You keep clinging onto this outdated notion of yourself, you believe that that's who you still are and then you hold yourself back from the things you want and the person you want to be." Daphne said coolly, still scanning the room behind her delicate glittering mask for a sign of a brunette dressed as a nurse. "I see that, Pansy and Theo have always seen that, and to be honest I think Hermione might be one of the only other people who does too. Is that worth throwing away because you're wrongly assuming she doesn't want to be associated with you? Besides I'm sure she's just as embarrassed by that outburst as you are, I could hear here all the way across the atrium."

Draco sat up a little straighter on his barstool as he considered everything that Daphne had just said and watched his friend for a sign of mirth or falsehood. She didn't appear to be lying, whether she was right or not it seemed she genuinely believed Hermione saw a future where the two of them were… _friends_.

"Is there any way I could just do the sensible thing, quit my job and never see any of these people again?" He muttered, already knowing that wasn't an option.

"I swear Draco Malfoy, one day your stubbornness will be the death of you."

* * *

"So, can I guess that didn't go as well as expected?" Pansy asked mockingly as she took a drag on a muggle cigarette the wizard sitting beside her on the curb had offered her.

Hermione wrinkled her nose at the smell, unhappy that so many witches and wizards she knew had decided to take up a habit she'd always detested and wiped the smudged mascara from underneath her eyes.

"What was your first clue, the screaming match or the fact that I've joined you dirty smokers out on the street instead of enjoying the party?"

The handsome man perched beside Pansy muttered "Hey" at her comment, but Pansy's only response was to take a deep drag and then blow the smoke into her friend's face.

"To be honest I was more interested in the bottle of whiskey currently in your hands, but I guess the other clues check out too." She sighed and leaned back, stretching her lithe legs out into the quiet road and looking up at the few visible stars in the night sky. "At this point Hermione I'm not sure what to tell you. You're smart enough to know that Draco's an ass and he reacts terribly in any and all situations where he feels vulnerable. If you're going to take this to heart that's sort of on you."

Hermione chewed her bottom lip in irritation as she considered Pansy's comments. It was true that the things Malfoy had said to her had upset her to no end. He had been rude, crude, insensitive and downright nasty. But she _also_ knew that her automatic reaction was to take those sorts of things very seriously as in her experience friends would never say such things to their friends without meaning them.

Draco Malfoy was far more complicated than that. His defensive streak was one of the strongest of anyone she'd ever met. He would rather burn not only the bridge but the city surrounding it than let himself appear weak or vulnerable – it was a characteristic she just wasn't used to. Especially as the past few weeks he had seemed to let his guard down a little.

That was of course before she'd taken his vulnerability and thrown it back in his face.

Hermione grimaced as she thought yet again of what had happened on Saturday morning, and despite her fury and embarrassment surrounding what had just transpired she still found herself feeling guilty for the way she had thoughtlessly insulted him and asked him to leave. Following that it did make sense that he would revoke the privilege she had enjoyed of getting to know the real him recently, she had shown him she could not be trusted.

When she had stalked away from him a little while ago she had wanted nothing more than to never see his smirking, smarmy face again. She would have switched cases if she had to – moved onto defence if she had to.

But now that the anger had faded her familiar self was returning, the person who refused to give up no matter how hard the challenge. And there was no doubting Draco Malfoy was the toughest challenge she had ever come across.

"Oh, give me some of that." Hermione snapped as Pansy once again blew smoke into her face, grabbing the lit cigarette forcefully from her friends fingertips and inhaling.

Pansy looked at her in genuine shock, a small smile playing about her lips as the witch tried to breathe out and immediately began coughing and hacking violently.

"Smooth. This is why you're not allowed to be impulsive." Pansy grinned as Hermione wiped at her watering eyes while trying to keep a-hold of the cancer stick. "Could you just stop with the break downs for like, longer than a week so we can get back to having actual fun like we used to?"

Hermione sighed and stared down at the glowing cigarette still clenched between her fingers. Pansy was right, the past few months had been nothing but trauma.

"In an ideal world Pans. But at the moment drama just seems to be following us everywhere."

As if he had been directed to do so, at that very moment a tall, red headed wizard emerged from the phone box nearby with a cigarette in hand and stopped dead in his tracks, gawping at the scene before him.

Hermione felt Pansy stiffen beside her and gently reached out her free hand to pat her leg. They really needed to stop working in the same building as all of their school friends, flames and exes.

"Hermione, you're smoking?! But that's bad for you!" Ron spluttered, which caused Pansy to snort and Hermione to drop the cigarette she had been holding as if it had been burning her fingers.

"You're one to talk Ronald." She snapped, "And besides I was just holding it for Pansy, don't you know that my parents are dentists?"

Hermione blushed as both Ron and Pansy chimed in with the last few words she had spoken, giving each other a knowing look before Pansy realised what she was doing and hastily broke eye contact.

Hermione realised she wasn't the only one struggling to deal with relationship drama at the moment and decided that Ron's entrance meant her time to leave.

She turned to the handsome wizard who Pansy had been grafting cigarettes from and offered him her hand.

"Come on, I think we should go and get another drink."

He looked up at her in surprise, and then over to Pansy (who he had clearly been hoping would pay him some attention in exchange for sharing his dirty muggle habit), but her eyes were once again locked with Ron's as he shuffled his feet and tried to come up with something to say.

"Oh, alright, I just thought that…" He began, still giving Pansy uncertain glances as he spoke.

Hermione sighed in exasperation and grabbed his arm, hauling him up off the ground and steering him towards the entrance.

"Well you thought wrong, they've got some important matters to discuss." She snapped, wanting to give her two best friends a chance.

She patted Ron encouragingly on the shoulder as she passed him and offered a weak smile which he sort-of returned. Pansy meanwhile was looking fiercely determined as she stood and stuck out her hand for one of Ron's cigarettes. Hermione caught the fear in his eyes and had to hold back a chuckle – boy she did _not_ envy him.

Once she and the wizard Pansy had been using for attention had gotten into the phone box and watched as Ron took a seat on the curb and Pansy followed suit, he turned towards Hermione and ducked his head towards hers.

Hermione gasped and gave the strange man a shove in the chest, pushing him against the opposite wall as the street disappeared and they descended into the ministry.

" _Excuse_ me, what do you think you're doing?!" She spluttered, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly and trying to assume her Molly Weasley pose (which was difficult in a latex nurse's costume – the outfit didn't exactly scream 'authoritative').

"Oh, I guess I just thought you wanted me for yourself, I'm game if you are." He responded with a shrug, and in response Hermione drew her wand.

"I don't even know who you are but trust me I'm not interested." She spat angrily, furious at his assumption that she wanted to get it on in the bloody lift down to their place of work.

"God _fine_ ," He muttered, sneering at her and turning away. "What, that thing about you fancying Malfoy true or something?"

She flushed bright red at the comment but didn't answer straight away. Even with all the sexual tension and their physical… encounters, this possibility had never really crossed Hermione's mind. She had always assumed at most that they were sexually attracted to one another, that the fact they could never truly be together just made each other all the more alluring. But now that she was being asked after everything that had happened, their conversations in the coffee shop and the way he had made her feel the previous day, she wasn't sure how to answer.

Maybe she _did_ have a thing for him – whatever that meant. It was obvious she didn't hate him, in fact she had begun to properly understand him (even when he was being a complete arse). He was undeniably frustrating and difficult, but for some strange reason that just made her want to get to know him more. She knew there were things about himself he had never told anyone, things a part of her itched to know about so that for once in his life he could share and lighten the burden.

But did that mean she fancied him?

"Whatever. Your friend's fitter than you anyway Granger." The wizard muttered as he marched out of the phone box, bringing her back down to reality.

"Well what a charming fellow, you really do know how to pick them."

Hermione, for the second time that evening, flinched at the sudden appearance of the very person at the forefront of her mind.

Draco Malfoy had been lounging against one of the fireplaces, avoiding the hustle and bustle of the party still going on a few meters away.

"Yes well, at least he wasn't trying to snog me to get back at a friend." She replied snootily, not able to resist getting a jab in even though she had resolved to (once again) sort things out between them.

At this he surprised her yet again by cracking one of his rare, genuine smiles.

"There's that sharp tongue, I was disappointed that idiot with the floppy hair didn't get a taste of it." He paused before meeting her gaze and speaking more genuinely than she had heard from him in days. "I'm sorry for earlier. I hope that I do not have to explain why my ego was so inflamed and I felt that was the right course of action, but I regret it immensely."

She nodded, moving out of the phone box and standing a respectable distance from him as he spoke.

"I shouldn't have come to your flat on Saturday. It was just that I felt somewhat responsible for how you were feeling as I found out from Daphne the other day that someone had been spreading rumours and the news would get through to the press. I chose not to inform you of that, and so when the story was leaked, I thought it was my fault you had been blindsided."

Hermione looked at him in confusion. That was news to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed and looked down at his polished shoes, wondering how Daphne would tell him to answer in this situation. Of course, his guttural reaction was to launch into another lie – he had wanted to have a laugh once the Prophet got hold of the story, he hadn't thought it mattered enough to tell her. But he knew that would cost him a slap on the wrist and probably the last friendships he had, so he decided against it.

"Do you remember that day when we had to read through some of Lestrange's more serious crimes?"

Hermione flushed and nodded, looking away from his gaze as tears automatically began to sting the backs of her eyes.

"That was the morning I found out. It didn't… it didn't feel right to put something like that on you as well, especially because I had hoped that some of my family's old connections in the paper would hold up." He shrugged and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Obviously I was wrong, and I felt like I had fucked up by not at least warning you. That was why I showed up that morning and I know it was a mistake, so… I guess I'm sorry."

Hermione blinked in shock, unsure of how to react. She _certainly_ hadn't expected him to take responsibility for what had happened the previous day – as Pansy had rightly pointed out, it takes two to tango and she had been more than willing to engage with him physically. It was also strange to know that the reason he hadn't told her about the rumours regarding them getting out was to spare her feelings. She wasn't quite sure how to react to that.

"As for today, well." He muttered, once again looking down at his shoes in embarrassment. "I have been told that I can let my ego and fear of shame get in the way of my friendships sometimes… so, I wanted to apologise for that properly too."

Before she could open her mouth to speak his head shot up and he looked at her in earnest.

"That's not a promise that I'll change. I thought that I had been able to recently, I thought that I had learnt how to deal with things better but I fucking can't – it isn't me." He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it and messing up the perfectly slicked back style he'd had before. "My reaction when faced with embarrassment or public humiliation is to fight and fight back as fucking hard as I can – that's how I've always been, so don't bloody expect a turnaround, I'm not and I will never be Potter-"

Before he could continue ranting Hermione had marched towards him, closing the distance between them and grabbed his hand. He looked back at her open mouthed, but she shook her head and began to speak.

"Neither am I." She replied, looking into his eyes with earnest. "I react shittily to things all the time – I feel like yesterday and today are good examples of that."

He raised his eyebrows and smirked slightly, both at the surprising use of language but also the admission that she wasn't completely perfect.

"I shouldn't have gotten so angry and thrown you out of my house like that – and I know you don't care about me in that way or anything but it was still rude and inconsiderate, I acted like it was all your fault we ended up… _you know_ , when that wasn't the case."

Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. The brightest witch of her age, a war hero, Hermione fucking Granger and she couldn't say the word shag. Brilliant.

"Granger… _Hermione_." He said, a little uncertain but deciding to stick with it. "I think it's best if we just pretend everything today never happened. I didn't mean really anything I said earlier, and maybe for ease we should forget about yesterday too."

Hermione looked away in thought, nibbling her lip as she did so. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the realisation that had come with the help of Pansy and Draco himself that he wasn't such a bad person, or the fire that had been ignited deep within her after they had taken things further the previous day, but what he had said just didn't sit well with her. She didn't want to forget it had ever happened – she wasn't sure she would ever be able to.

"No." She said eventually, turning to meet his surprised gaze as she did so.

She saw a glimmer of confusion mixed with hurt flash across his gaze before his stoic façade was once again in place, and hurriedly tried to explain herself.

"I mean yes let's forget about the arguing, I don't think either of us meant what we were saying, but I don't want to forget… the rest of it."

He blinked and his silver-grey eyes widened in surprise.

"You don't?" He asked, and his voice had a slightly hopeful edge to it.

She shook her head and looked down bashfully.

"I don't think I could even if I tried."

The moment she finished talking his hands were in her hair. He brought her face up so that it was level with his own and they were both breathing heavily, staring into each other's eyes.

"Good." He murmured and captured her lips with his own in a passionate kiss.

Hermione realised that she was probably going to miss the bands full set, and that Ginny and Harry would wonder where she had gotten to.

But at that moment, as he tugged at her hair, the other hand at her waist as the two of them stumbled towards the fireplaces and she managed to break free long enough to mumble her home address, she didn't care about anything else in the world.

* * *

 **Well there we go! They've finally given in ;)**

 **Don't be fooled into thinking it's all plain sailing from here! But I'm excited to launch into a new phase-as such with this story**

 **Anyway hope you enjoyed and please leave a review if you have any thoughts or comments! I read them all :)**

 **Big love x**


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